Black Sheep
by Lux's Sister
Summary: [Tipping Points AU] After the death of Lux Bonteri, Steela Gerrera has moved on. She's healing, she's successful, she's even found love again. But to some, everything is not as it seems. When suspicions arise, the other rebels are thrust into a deadly game of thrones and houses... lest Onderon be destroyed again. [Major character death]
1. Prologue

**BLACK SHEEP**

 **By Lux's Sister**

 **PROLOUGE**

Steela Gerrera prays the prayer of those who rarely call upon God.

 _Oh God! Oh God, somebody help me!_

Steela prides herself on being able to keep her cool, but she can feel her composure evaporating away like a puddle on a summer afternoon. She really, really doesn't want to think about the distance between her feet and solid ground.

There's a sliding sound above her, and Lux's face peers over the edge, reaching down.

"Hang on!" He implores.

She meets his eyes, and then something is wrapping around the small of her back, supporting her.

"I'll handle this" Ahsoka mutters, the sunlight forming a halo like Ahsoka is some real-life angel, lifting her friends to safety.

Steela is still in midair when Lux starts to slip.

Ahsoka unceremoniously drops her onto solid ground next to King Dendup and lifts Lux with the Force. "I've got you!" she calls out.

Lux's face relaxes and he allows himself to be picked up and brought to safety, hand outstretched.

So close, his and Ahsoka's hands are _so close_ to touching.

And then the gunshot violates the surreal calm, followed closely by Lux's scream of terror.

….

Lux Bonteri has no family to hold him at the bottom of the cliff.

When Steela and Ahsoka arrive on site, a group of rebels has formed a ring around him, their heads bowed in respect. Saw glances up.

" _Steela!"_ The relief is thick in his voice and she has only enough time to turn around before she's enfolded in her older brother's tight embrace.

"I thought you were finished for sure!" he sobs.

She opens her mouth to say something, but her voice is dry.

Three feet, three thousand miles next to her, the sound of keening erupts from Ahsoka's throat as she cradles Lux in her arms.

…..

Her mind is numb. Her body is cold. Her heart is unfeeling.

Steela Gerrera is a corpse.

Beside her, Ahsoka takes a sniffling breath.

If Steela is a corpse, Ahsoka is a shell. Ever since Lux's body was wrapped in a funeral shroud and carried out of the Highlands she hasn't spoken, she hasn't eaten, and she hasn't slept.

Anakin Skywalker had arrived earlier that morning at the safe house in Iziz, to come get her and bring her home. And in Steela's humble opinion, he failed rather epically.

 _"Ahsoka," Anakin had said to Ahsoka's mute form, sitting curled on the couch. "I'm sorry about your friend."_

 _Ahsoka sniffed, and her master had taken a seat beside her._

 _"I understand, Snips," he said. "I've lost Qui-Gon and my mother. I…I understand what you're going through." Ahsoka buried her face in her knees and Anakin rubbed her back, thinking he had gotten the message across._

Steela thinks it's karking bull. Anakin may understand the loss of a family member and a close friend, but a loss of a love is an entirely different thing.

It's like your heart is being torn out.

 _When Anakin sat there soothing Ahsoka, she ducked into the refresher and locked the door behind her._

 _And there, where nobody else could see her, she pressed her hands to her belly as if her insides would come out._

The king reads Lux's eulogy, but Steela isn't listening. If she listens, she's going to cry. And she can't cry in front of the entire planet. Bad enough that the other rebels were around while Tandin stood watch making sure she ate breakfast, as if she was a child.

Something catches in her peripheral vision: a small figure wearing a black dress, nearly doubled over at the waist from crying.

The girl, clutching a folded Onderonian flag, looks up. And that's when Steela sees it.

Steela feels like screaming. She feels like throwing up. She feels like doing anything but standing here in silence at Lux's funeral.

A lump rises in her throat.

…

The lump was the result of two things.

One: The girl's identity.

Two: The fact Steela hadn't even known she existed.

Yesterday, Tandin dragged her and Saw to the reading of Lux's will. He said it was important, it was something Lux wanted to do.

She and Saw sat as King Dendup read the documents Lux had prepared just in case this thing, this awful thing happened. And while she didn't understand half the financial and political language Lux had declared as his last wishes, she did understand the very last page, written in Lux's perfect cursive like everything, even his grocery lists.

 _I entrust Saw and Steela Gerrera and General Tandin with the care and upbringing of my sister Sierra._

 _I've enclosed a holodisk. It includes her location and the access code to our apartment. I'd advise knocking first and then opening the door no matter what she says – I told her not to open it for anyone, and she's a good enough liar she can make you think she's a crazy cat lady._

 _Just open the door and try not to scare her too terribly. My father's wedding ring is on a cord around my neck. If you show her that, she'll believe you._

 _I hope you all can understand why I didn't say anything about her. Out of all people Saw probably understands the best; he is a big brother too. I'm sorry I kept this from you, but it was important._

 _I love you all, and I know that with you at the reins, Onderon will be free again._

…

"I'll take the child,"

Tandin had said to bluntly to King Dendup while Steela and Saw stared ahead, still processing the information.

 _Lux had family left? Why didn't he tell us? We could have arranged something to protect her, we could have just kept it between the three of us…_

She rubbed her temples. Oh, who is she kidding? News that Lux had remaining family would have spread through camp like a plague.

"Steela and Saw are in no shape to take someone in," Tandin argues. "I had to stand in front of Steela and watch her to make sure she ate her breakfast this morning!"

Dendup glanced over to where Saw's brain was struggling to come out of the haze of the Bloody Marys he'd had for breakfast, and Steela's was so swirling with emotions it could hardly process a logical thought.

"John Bonteri used to work in my department. I know the family." Tandin reasoned. "If she wants to go somewhere else, then she's free to. But let her stay with me while Saw and Steela … process."

….

"Sierra Bonteri?"

Silence.

Tandin knocks again. "Sierra Bonteri, open up."

Someone shuffles toward the door.

"You must have the wrong house. There's nobody here with that name."

One would have to be deaf not to register that the person's voice is thick with tears.

"Miss Bonteri, it's about your brother."

"I said you have the wrong house. I don't have a b-brother."

That seals it.

Tandin (bless his soul) punches in the access code to open the door.

Steela stays outside per the king's orders. Lux's apartment is the last place she wants to be anyway.

…..

She's never going to be able to un-hear Ahsoka's and Sierra's wails.

Not as long as she lives.

….

 _It should have been me._

 _It should have been me._

Tears glide down Steela's face as that one thought washes over her soul.

 _It should have been me._

 **A/N: While not part of the While Others universe, this story does share two of its characters: Sierra and Hero (who will appear in a later chapter).**

 **This story is the fruit of several discussions with 082 Martian Scout. I'd like to extend a big thank you to him, and I hope it lives up to our mutual expectations.**

 **So, what were your first impression of the new alternate universe? Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the review box on the way out.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	2. Peace and Sugar

**CHAPTER ONE – PEACE AND SUGAR**

 _Five months later…_

 **STEELA**

If Sierra doesn't get outside soon, we're both going to be late.

I glance to the speeder's clock. Seven thirty-five. Her school starts at seven forty-five, and my shift's at eight. It's a good thing it only takes five minutes or so to get from here to the school, or Sierra would be chronically late.

(I've brought up the idea of just having her walk to school, but Tandin won't hear of it. I strongly suspect this is one of his "bonding experiences")

The front door slams as Sierra bolts out, cramming a ration bar into her mouth.

I open the speeder door and she climbs in.

"Sorry! My alarm didn't go off."

I put the speeder in drive and start edging down the street toward her school building. "Check it tonight so it goes off tomorrow. How's our little project going?"

Sierra takes an intense interest in her ration bar.

"Sierra, you have to have friends." I argue. "You just have to. It's a part of being a sentient being!"

"I have friends!"

"Really? Name them." I raise a finger. _"I_ do not count."

"But you're my friend."

"Yes, I'm your friend, but I'm also five years older than you." I tell her. "Let me clarify this: you need to have friends _your age._ Any success with that?"

"No."

I figured as much. This is what happens when a kid enters a school at twelve years old when all the other kids have known each other for life. And with everything that's happened, she needs some friends her age.

I can only do so much without memories of Lux ripping me apart at the seams.

"Why don't you eat your lunch with some girls in your classes?" I suggest for what's probably the third time.

"Worth a try," she says dully, putting her ration bar wrapper in her pocket.

I slide through the last few seconds of a stoplight and pull into the school parking lot. Someone honks at me. _Some of these mothers drive like demons._

I park the speeder.

"I'm serious about lunch."

"It's not that big a deal."

"It becomes a big deal when I tell Tandin." I say, with absolutely zero intent of actually telling Tandin.

She blinks. "You wouldn't."

"You never know." I release the speeder door lock. "Have a nice day!"

One of the demon-driver mothers blasts her horn at me. It takes all my willpower not to roll my eyes at her.

I have ten minutes to get to the palace.

…..

Getting to work on time entails taking a page from the demon-driver mothers' books and crazy driving to the parking lot, then running full-tilt into the palace.

I scan my fingerprint at the time clock, all out of breath.

 **Transaction accepted for Gerrera, Steela at 7:59 AM.**

 _Thank the Lord._

"That was a close one,"

I turn around. Standing behind me is one of the other advisors. For some reason or another, I can't remember his name.

"The girl I have to take to school in the morning was late," I explain. "How about you, Benjamin?"

The advisor's smile twitches. "It's 'Bastian,' actually,"

Oops. "I'm so sorry."

"No offense taken, I have a rather uncommon name. And my morning's gone very well. The weather is pleasant."

 _The weather…Right. The sun was shining this morning and there was a breeze._

"It was. I hope it stays this way for the rest of the week." I edge down the hall toward my office.

"Me, too." He raises a datapad the smallest bit. "May we meet in my office after the meeting? I have a proposal for the fire code."

And there it is. That's what Bastian wants: a new fire code.

I glance at the clock. "Can you pitch it to me right now?"

Bastian blinks. "Right now?"

"Our meeting doesn't start for a half hour. Can you pitch the proposal right now?"

"Ah…I'm meeting with one of the other advisors soon," he says. "But after the meeting, my office should be cleared."

 _Okay, Steela. It's the fire code. Shouldn't be anything too complicated. Heck, it might even be relaxing after the meeting._

"That should work," I start down the hallway, "I'll see you after the meeting."

 **AHSOKA**

In the past five months, I've slept at Padme's apartment thirteen times.

How do I know the number? Anakin has been keeping track of them. Supposedly he's turning the calendar in to the Soul Healers to see if I've been making progress.

"Making progress."

They mean "forgetting Lux."

Those two words turn my stomach. I can still remember the first words he said to me ("You're a Jedi, aren't you?") and the last ("Hang on!")

"Hang on,"

Oh Lux, she hung on and so did you. Your knuckles were going white with your grip on a rock face that would crumble any second, but I saved her first.

She had been hanging longer. The muscles in her arms were starting to twitch. I knew you had a little more grip in you, so I saved her first.

I saved Steela. My friend.

I left the man I loved hanging on a cliff face.

I check to make sure Padme's in another room, and then bury my face in my hands.

If I had just made sure that gunship was down…

My shoulder is mostly healed, but it still aches whenever there's a big rainstorm.

Good. Let it ache. Let it stay like that as a reminder of what's happened, of what I lost on the cliff that became Lux's grave.

Lux. My love, the one who dragged me to Carlaac, the one who helped to liberate Onderon, the hearer of so many words unsaid, so many things that would never leave my lips.

And the soul healers want me to pretend he never existed.

I stroke the arm of Padme's couch, the fabric soft and silky under my fingertips. It's a pretty color too, a sort of creamy-white unlike the clones' armor and the Med Bay's. It's…homier. Softer.

On the adjacent table, Padme has placed a small box of tissues.

The amount of money she spends on tissues has gone through the roof because of me, and that doesn't stop me from grabbing one to wipe the tears flowing from my eyes.

"Ahsoka?"

It's Padme.

I take a deep breath and stuff the tissue in my pocket. "Y-yes? I'm fine."

Unfortunately, Padme's BS detector is state-of-the-art. She makes a beeline for me and sits down, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. After five months, she's practically a professional.

"Shh," she soothes, rubbing my back.

"Why do they want me to just go on like nothing happened?" I sob. "I loved him, and he died. He died! He had a sister. He had so many friends. He had _Onderon!"_

"It was an accident," Padme says. "Ahsoka, it was an accident and nothing more."

"They want me to _forget_ him. _Anakin_ wants me to forget him but I can't, I don't want to."

And in a voice I've only heard when I was a child.

"He doesn't deserve to be forgotten."

We sit quietly on the couch, Padme rubbing my back to quiet me after my mini-meltdown.

"Why don't you sleep in the guest room again tonight?" She suggests. "I have frozen cookie dough, we can bake cookies."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden."

"I'll get the cookies out," Padme says for an answer. "Splash cold water on your face and meet me in the kitchen."

 **SIERRA**

Here's to hoping Tandin gets home before Steela and Saw show up.

Water from the water fountain is a sorry thing to toast with, but it's all I've got. A few quick gulps later and I'm walking home as quickly as I can.

Why? Simple. It's Friday. Tandin has the Gerreras and his mom over for dinner on Friday nights.

I'm not complaining about Nana Tandin, quite the opposite actually. She actually likes me. When Tandin left me at her house overnight, the first thing she asked was whether I wanted to help her bake cookies or just eat the dough straight.

One dozen snickerdoodles later, we were best friends.

She also calls Tandin "Gregory," right to his face. That one never fails to put a smile on my face.

Steela's and Saw's, too. Tandin just doesn't look like a Gregory.

"He did when he was a child!" Nana Tandin announced when Saw brought it up. And then she proceeded to show us all of Tandin's embarrassing baby pictures while he groaned " _Mother, please,"_ and Saw laughed so hard he choked on his pot roast.

I wonder if she has a picture of me somewhere. Probably. She bugged Tandin for weeks about my school pictures, and Nana isn't the type to give up unless she gets what she wants.

 _"You kids are so skinny," she fretted, giving Saw, Steela, and I the up-and-down. "Y'all need to eat. And not just little bird food, real food."_

 _She pointed at Steela with her fork. "I'm talking to you, young lady. If you get any teenier, you're not going to be able to pick up that rifle of yours! A strong wind would blow all three of you off into the jungle, never to be seen again!"_

 _Steela was speechless. But an amazing thing happened. Her fork moved a bite of dinner to her mouth. And so did mine. And Saw's._

I believe it is physically impossible not to love Nana Tandin.

Just like it was nigh-impossible not to love my mom.

I shake the thought off and keep walking down the block.

Here's why I hope Tandin and Nana beat the Gerreras to dinner tonight: Steela's going to ask me if I talked to anyone today, and the answer is going to be "No."

I like people. I really do. I just am not having much success breaching the social bubble.

 _For someone good at lying as you are, it should be a cinch._

Yes, but there's a difference between lying to adults and lying to your peers. I grew up watching Lux lie to adults day in and day out. In fact, I was sometimes his partner in crime.

Hey, someone had to be the one who unlocked the back door so Lux could sneak into the house.

If Nana beats Steela to the house, then she'll say something about the kids in my class and/or fill Steela's mouth with cookies. Anyone with taste buds like Nana's cookies, and I've seen Steela put down at least six of the frosted ones with sprinkles when she thought nobody could see her.

Steela can't talk if she's full of cookies. If Steela can't talk, then she will forget to ask how my day went, and I can have peace and sugar.

Dad loved sugar. Mom was a health nut, but Dad practically filled the house with the sweet stuff whenever he got the chance. He said it was the magic cure-all for all our problems.

Sugar makes everything better. Right, Dad?

I don't know, but I sure as heck hope it does.

I double my speed back toward Tandin's house, praying that I have some time to calm and compose myself before people have to see me again.

 **A/N: And not much is going well for our trio of female protagonists.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Lost Lauren, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of reviews, please feel free to leave your thoughts on the way out.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	3. Victorian Lady

**CHAPTER TWO – VICTORIAN LADY**

 **STEELA**

 _"So, Lux. What is it like being a politician?" I asked one day when we were clean out of conversation topics._

 _He pushed his hair off his forehead, as if he had a headache. "You have to love what you're doing. All the speeches and the debates can be exhausting, and there's a good amount of boredom. But knowing that you're helping the people makes the whole ordeal worthwhile."_

Lux was not kidding when he said that there was a "good amount of boredom" in politics.

One of the other advisors has held the floor for two straight hours. As far as I can gather, he's supposed to be making a case for renovation opportunities in Iziz.

Somehow, the debate has steered to Daglo mange and how an intervention should be funded.

I struggle to pay attention, but exhaustion and boredom are winning, hands-down.

 _Enough about Daglo mange! Let's talk reconstruction again. Some of the streets still aren't re-bricked after the droids and riots broke them, and a good portion of the buildings are damaged._

Of course, I am not allowed to say that in an advisor's meeting. What I _am_ allowed to do is say an enthusiastic "aye" when King Dendup asks that this meeting be adjourned until tomorrow.

Most of the others are with me. Besides that one very long-winded advisor, there have been other extremely long-winded advisors, and it's Friday. We all want to go home.

 _All right, Steela. Just a few more hours, and then it's time for Mrs. Tandin's nuna wings. You can hold out for nuna wings._

"Advisor Gerrera? Are we still having our meeting about the fire code?"

Bastian. I completely forgot about him. Is there a polite way to duck out of this?

Not really.

"Of course," I say, taking a half second to re-compose myself after the seemingly endless meeting.

Bastian smiles. "Right this way, please."

…..

Bastian pulls out a chair at his desk for me and shuts the office door.

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asks, gesturing to a water heater in a corner.

I raise a hand in a polite turn-down gesture. "No thank you. The fire code?"

"Of course," he grabs a datapad from the other side of his desk and hands it to me. I skim the proposal.

Unlike renovation opportunities turning into Daglo mange, this proposal looks relatively cut-and-dry: more fire drills, more checks for emergency sprinkler systems, and clear labels for emergency exits.

"You want to increase education for fire prevention?" I ask, eyebrows raised just a little.

"It's for simple things," Bastian explains. "The fire department would come to schools to teach the children about fire safety, maybe air a public service announcement or two. We have the funding, I assure you."

I scroll down the proposal. Sure enough, he's even secured funding. And he's done it impressively too, scraping a few hundred credits here, another hundred there, until he's cobbled together a lump sum which could, if we're frugal, pay for the proposal.

"Most impressive," I comment, setting the holopad down. "I'd say it's worthy to pitch to the king."

Bastian smiles. "Thank you…though some of our coworkers will attempt to turn it into something else entirely." He chuckles. "The things they come up with, honestly."

"Why the fire code, though?" Out of everything he could possibly have proposed, he picks the fire code? That's worth a few queries.

"My old next-door neighbor is entering training to be a firefighter," he explains. "I've known her ever since we were children. She told me about the faults in the system, and if they were solved so many lives could be saved, for both the victims and the rescuers."

I see. While it might not be obvious, this is personal.

"In fact, this morning I bought her a lovely gold pendant for her birthday. May I have your opinion on it?"

"Sure,"

Bastian digs into his briefcase and pulls out a small velvet box. He open the lid and lifts out a shiny gold pendant, adorned with some kind of sigil.

"That's beautiful. Your friend will love it."

Bastian holds it directly in front of my face, the pendant at my eye level.

"If you look carefully, you can see different designs." He says. "She likes things like that."

I narrow my eyes, trying to see the different designs when Bastian bumps the pendant, sending it swinging.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, lifting a hand to stop the pendant when a soft sound rings out.

And suddenly, I am unconscious.

…..

"Advisor Gerrera? _Steela?"_

My eyes flutter open at the sound of the voice.

"Steela, wake up. Are you all right?"

I raise my head from where it's fallen on my arms. "Yes…what happened?"

Bastian is no longer behind his desk. Instead, he kneels by my side. One of his hands rests between my shoulder blades, the other gently holds my forearm.

"You fainted. Have you eaten today? You're ice cold."

"I had caf and some eggs this morning." I shiver.

"Here," Bastian grabs a sweater from the back of his chair and slips my arms through the sleeves. "I'm going to call your brother to take you home. You don't look well."

"R-right. Saw." I mutter, pulling the sweater around me.

Bastian presses the call button for his comlink.

 _"Gerrera here."_

"Commander Gerrera? This is Advisor Bastian Lockwood. Your sister is in my office and she's had some kind of fit."

 _"What? Is she okay?"_

"She's conscious again," Bastian explains, "But she's freezing cold. Can you come to my office to pick her up? I'm a bit concerned."

 _"I'm on my way right now. Steela, can you hear me?"_

"Hi, Saw."

Saw's relief is audible. _"I'll be up in a few minutes, Steel. Just hang tight until then."_

He ends the communication and I brace my hands on the armrests to raise myself.

"Careful," Bastian admonishes, grabbing my shoulder with a cool hand. "Just stay there. Saw should be here in a few minutes. Do you need something?"

"I think I just need some air."

Bastian opens the office's one window wide, allowing the breeze and sunshine in. "There. Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you," I relax back into the chair, letting the breeze caress my face. "I think I'm all right now."

"Steela," he reasons, "People don't faint if there's nothing wrong with them. Relax and let me take care of you until Saw gets here."

He lays his hand over mine.

"Let me take care of you…"

The soft sound again.

And my mind fades to black once more.

…

"Commander Gerrera, she's fainted again. I don't know what's happening to her."

Someone tilts my head to face them. "She's starting to come around. Stee!"

I force my eyes to open. I'm not in Bastian's office. In fact, we're a good distance down the hall. Bastian carries me as one would carry a bride. Saw holds my face in his hand.

"Oh force, it happened again?"

Saw opens his arms. "Yes. I'll take her, Advisor."

"I can walk," I protest. "I'm fine, Saw. It's not that bad."

Bastian carefully lowers me to my feet. "I'm not so sure, Advisor Gerrera. Double fainting is no coincidence."

I can't believe this. I'm no Victorian Lady, despite what Mrs. Tandin says about Sierra and I being too skinny. Maybe she was onto something.

Saw takes my arm and walks me out the door.

"Bastian?" I crane my head over my shoulder. "Thank you for your help."

…

The medical droid tells me to drink lots of orange juice and then sends me home.

I'm grateful nothing is actually wrong, but I've just missed dinner at the Tandin's. Meaning I have to wait another week before I get at Mrs. Tandin's nuna wings or her cookies. Sierra and I can scarf those things down like nobody's business.

"That's not yours." Saw says out of nowhere.

"What?"

"That's not your sweater."

I look down at myself and feel heat rush to my cheeks.

"Oh. It's Bastian's. He let me borrow it so I wouldn't get cold." I admit, running my hands over the soft fabric. "I'll give it back at work."

Saw shrugs. "All right. Just as long as you don't pass out on the floor again."

"Oh, shut up."

 **SIERRA**

 _"Sierra?_ _Sierra, are you home? I need help getting the nuna wings in the skillet!"_

My hopes have come true.

"Coming, Nana!"

I unlock the front door and let Nana in. She barely wastes a second careening into the kitchen and putting three containers on the table.

"There you are, kiddo! How was your day? Put those rolls in a nice basket for me, please."

Typical Nana.

"I'm fine. How are you."

"I'll be better once I get these nuna legs into the mighty General Tandin," she shakes her head. "Goodness, does Gregory eat? Never mind. I brought some sprinkle cookies, the kind Steela likes. Put those on the table."

She didn't have to tell me. I already have a cookie directly en route to my mouth.

"And don't eat them."

I glumly put the cookie back on the plate and go back to the rolls.

"Got those from the Good Eats Diner," Nana explains proudly. "That rebel girl Hero works there. Real nice girl and she's a good cook, too. Even if she doesn't quite understand the glory of fried food."

Nana thinks Hero Calvert is nice?

All right, it's not that Hero's not nice. I'm acquainted with her because she's Steela's friend. If Hero has a brain-to-mouth filter, it's made of cobwebs. Anything that pops into her head comes out her mouth. Steela says it's a miracle she's kept her waitress job as long as she had.

Nana loves her. "Just like me when I was young!" she says. "Give that Hero girl a skillet and she'll turn into a clone of me."

I wouldn't mind a clone of Nana.

Nana tosses the nuna legs into the skillet and shakes an assortment of things that I could never identify but taste amazing onto them.

"The secret's timing, Sierra." She says. "You have to get the seasonings on before it gets hot, or else it won't cook in with the juices."

"Mm hm," I nod, watching the grease sizzle and pop around the food, making the nuna legs jump and dance. Soon it'll be time to add the vegetables, and they will fry even quicker and louder than the meat.

There's a key in the lock, and the door opens. Tandin's home on time, as always.

"Mother? Sierra?"

"We're in the kitchen!" Nana shouts down the hallway. "Dinner should be ready in a few minutes if you help set the table. When are Steela and Saw going to be here?"

Tandin walks into the kitchen.

"They aren't," he says gruffly. "Saw called. Steela fainted at work today and they're still at the Med Bay waiting for the droid to give her the all-clear."

"Low blood sugar," Nana predicts. "I bet you anything it was low blood sugar. That girl doesn't eat enough."

The Gerreras are going to miss dinner…which means the only people here will be Tandin and Nana.

 _Oh boy,_ my brain frets, _it's a good thing you have all those cookies to eat until you can't think anymore._

 **A/N: Not exactly rosy again (especially for Steela), but sometimes events like this this have silver linings. I'll leave you all to think on that.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Johnt12345, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of reviews, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	4. Steela Goes On a Date

**CHAPTER THREE – STEELA GOES ON A DATE**

 **SIERRA**

Just like I predicted, Nana does most of the talking over dinner. Tandin and I stay mostly silent, answering questions and nodding affirmation to something she says.

I figure out ways to strategically fill my mouth with nuna wings whenever there's a lull in her soliloquy. Tandin simply does his "somber general" act.

Did the courts even check before they placed me with him? Or did they just take his word for it? I bet anything it's the latter – Tandin doesn't understand kids in general.

At least Lux was family. We understood each other, even if we sometimes wanted to punch each other in the face.

…..

 _"Where have you been?"_

 _Lux walked into our apartment, hanging up his coat. "I told you I was going to be gone for a few days."_

 _"You didn't answer any of my calls. I thought you were dead in a ditch or something!"_

 _"And I said I might be incommunicado for those days."_

 _"Okay. Why were you on Carlaac?"_

 _Lux almost spit when I said that. "What?"_

 _"I called the comlink company and asked them to trace your device because you didn't answer me. Why did they tell me it was on Carlaac?"_

 _"I was there. It was just a short stop," Lux lied._

 _"A side trip took two days?"_

 _At that point, Lux figured out he couldn't argue with the comlink company's testimony and he told me where he'd been._

 _"Then I took off in an escape pod to come home, and that was the end of it." He said._

 _I stared at him._

 _"Please tell me you're joking."_

 _I didn't speak to him for a few hours after that._

 _And when he left for the rebellion, the first thing I did was call the comlink company to track his device._

 _The last ping it made was at the top of a cliff in the Highlands, before it was crushed to pieces by my brother's body._

…

"Sierra, are you all right?"

Tandin's voice cuts the memory like an axe. His and Nana's attentions are now focused on me.

My eyes grow warm.

"I don't feel well" bursts out of my mouth as I stand up, blinking hard.

"Your cheeks aren't flushed. Gregory, watch her in case she caught something from Steela." Nana instructs, looking me over.

I rinse my plate and put it in the sink, swearing that something is in my eye, something has to be in my eye.

Nana hugs me goodbye and sends me off to my room. _Thank you. I don't think I can be with Tandin for long without breaking into tears._

 _And I don't want to cry in front of Tandin._

Once Nana leaves I duck into the refresher and turn on the shower, hoping the sound will muffle the sound of crying.

When I emerge, the look Tandin has on his face says the running water wasn't loud enough.

"Sierra, I think we need to talk," he says stiffly.

I freeze. The air is heavy in my lungs.

"Please sit." Tandin gestures to the second chair, directly across from him as if the living room is an interrogation room. Which won't be a far cry from the truth once he gets going.

"Okay," I mutter, starting towards the chair and sitting down. "Is this about school?"

Please let it be about school. I have okay grades, and that's all Tandin cares about.

"No."

Shoot.

"Sierra, my mother and I care about you very much," he says stiffly. "You do not need to hide from us."

Uh-oh. I sense this conversation rapidly, rapidly going into uncharted, awkward territory. Tandin's running out of things Nana told him to say. I have no idea what to say back.

And then, the sound of glory: my comlink rings.

"I should get that," I chirp and nearly bolt into my room to pick up without checking Caller ID.

"Hello?"

 _"Hi, Sierra? This is Ean Gould. I got your number from the school directory."_

"Hi, Ean…" Ean Gould is in a few of my classes, but I can't say I've talked to him.

 _"Did we have any math homework?"_

"I don't think so." There is silence on the line.

 _"Oh, okay. Thanks. I'll see you on Monday."_ Ean says hurriedly, and then pauses again.

"I'll see you on Monday."

Ean waits five seconds more, until I get tired of waiting and hang up on him.

No matter how awkward that was, Ean's done me a great service: Tandin isn't waiting for me anymore.

There will be no interrogations tonight.

 **STEELA**

"Come in!"

I open Bastian's office door and he quickly clears a datapad from his desk. "Steela! You're feeling better?"

I hold out the folded sweater. "I came by to give your sweater back. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"You needed it," he says, taking the garment and setting it on his desk. "I'm just glad to see that you're well again.

"Uh…thank you." I smile.

Bastian smiles back, and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Would you like to go get caf after work sometime?" he asks.

"Caf?" I ask, tripping over the C.

"I know some nice places," he offers.

I smooth the front of my shirt nervously. "Sure…sure. That sounds nice. When are you free?"

"At the earliest, tonight?"

My schedule flashes through my mind. Clear as a bell.

"Tonight it is, then. Where you do want to meet?"

"Have you heard of the Good Eats Diner?"

I'm very familiar with Good Eats. It looks like a dive, but it serves some of the best food on Onderon.

"Yes."

"What do you think of there, at five thirty?"

I nod. "That sounds good."

"Wonderful," Bastian replies, smile persisting. "I'll see you at five thirty, Steela."

…

With the traffic in my favor, I get to Good Eats at five fifteen.

Hero Calvert is manning one of the sections, and almost immediately turns from her table to yell "I got this one!" and point at me. 

"So what are you doin' in my section without Saw in tow?" Hero asks after she seats me at a table. "Are you meeting someone?"

My cheeks twitch. "Yes,"

Hero leans in. "Is it a guy?"

"Yes."

"Is he cute?"

I stare at her. "I think so."

"Do you like him?"

Well, there's an easy one. The smile comes back to my face. "For sure."

 _"Delicious!"_ Hero says. "If I wasn't on the clock I would sit down and interrogate you. How'd you two meet?"

"Work." Hero's manager walks out of the kitchen. "Hero, your boss is giving you the death look."

Hero swears under her breath. "So, you're still waiting for your party before you order drinks? Okay. I'll be back."

She turns toward one of her other tables when the diner door opens and Bastian walks through.

"Table for two – oh, never mind. The rest of my party's been seated already." He brushes past the hostess and comes over to my table. "Steela, I didn't think you'd get here so quickly."

I stand up to greet him. "The traffic pushed me right through." I feel a smile creep onto my face again, as if on its own volition. "I haven't been waiting for that long though. I haven't ordered anything yet."

Bastian pulls my chair out. "May I?"

Bastian pushes me to the table and picks up the menu. No sooner has he done it than Hero swoops back in.

"Hi, welcome to the Good Eats diner. Can I start you off with something to drink today?"

"I think we'll both take caf," Bastian says and hands Hero the menus.

…

My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

"So, you've lived in Iziz all your life?"

"Ever since I was born. My mother was a maid at the palace and I worked my way up to where I am now." Bastian says, taking a sip of his caf. "And you?"

"I was born and raised in a village. My father tried to get my mother to the hospital in time, but she ended up having me on the kitchen floor."

Out of the corner of my eye, Hero jerks her head for me to come over.

"Excuse me for a minute, I'll be right back." I say and walk over to the counter. Hero pulls me to the back of the diner.

"Bastian Lockwood? Out of every guy in the galaxy, you're on a date with _Bastian Lockwood?"_

"Yes. Isn't it great?" I cheer.

"Great? Steela, you need to go to the bathroom and never come back!"

The smile drains from my face. "You want me to stand him up?"

"Steela, his friends come in here every weekend. Him and some jerk named Cliff or Biff or…Grace, what's that dude's name again?"

One of the other waitresses makes a face. "Griff."

"Thanks," Hero turns back to me. "This Griff guy comes in and makes all these nasty jokes about the waitresses, and Bastian thinks they're funny."

"It can't be that bad, Hero. Bastian's sweet."

"His friend was picking on Valerie yesterday. It was a good thing Grace took the coffee put from me. Val's only fourteen years old. I told him to leave her alone and he told me to keep arguing because I looked hot while I was arguing.

"That's it?"

"It would have been more if Grace didn't take the coffee pot! If I had it right about now…"

I grab Hero's wrist. "Hero, you need your job."

"You need to get the heck out of here. I can sneak you through the kitchen. I'll tell him you got sick and called Saw to take you home."

How does she not understand this? "Hero, he's a really nice guy. I passed out at work a while ago and he took really good care of me. He's been nothing but a gentleman all night."

"Steela, he hangs out with jerks. You can tell a guy's true colors by the people he hangs out with. This Griff? He's gotten even creepier around me ever since Hutch came in one day. Like he's got a thing for women who are taken."

I straighten up. "Hero, I am having fun for the first time since we first went out in the jungle to get Rash off the throne. I'm not going to let anything ruin this one night."

"Fine," Hero says icily. "It's your heart. Do with it what you want. But when he breaks it, remember I warned you."

 **A/N Hero's back! And even if she can't convince Steela to leave, she can at least provide some good one-liners for our enjoyment.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Johnt12345, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	5. It Never Is Just Rain or Snow

**CHAPTER FOUR – IT NEVER IS JUST RAIN OR SNOW**

 **One week later**

 **AHSOKA**

"I have an idea."

Padme sits next to me.

"How about you holo-call your friends?" she suggests.

"Who?"

"Well, have you talked to Barriss lately?"

I nod. "Just today. She doesn't understand. She can't. She never felt like this."

"What about Senator Chuchi?"

"She's nice, but she's always busy. People come in during the middle of our conversations and monopolize her attention."

It's true. The last time I was in Riyo's office for a visit, Senator Burtoni shoved her way in and spent a good hour arguing with her.

"All right, then can you think of anyone else to call?" Padme asks, holding my comlink in front of me. "If you can't, then I will."

I shake my head.

"What about your friends from Onderon? The rebel leader, what was her name?"

"Steela,"

"Steela. Why don't you call her?"

I think about that for a moment. Steela is the type to pick up the comlink and talk long enough to appease Padme, but she won't talk forever.

Yeah, she's probably the best bet.

I take the comlink and dial Steela's number, or at least my best recollection of it.

The comlink rings, and rings.

"She's not answering."

Padme is undeterred. "Try another one."

So I call Saw. Maybe he'll pick up.

But Saw doesn't answer either.

 _Okay, Ahsoka. That's just a little bit abnormal. If one of the Gerreras doesn't have their comlink, the other one does. You'd better call Tandin and make sure everything's okay._

I dial Tandin's number. The comlink rings.

 _"Hello?"_ A young girl answers.

"Hi, can I speak to General Tandin please?"

 _"Tandin's not home right now. This is his ward, Sierra. Can I help you?"_

My breath sticks in my throat.

Of all the people in the galaxy I ended up on the line with, it had to be Lux's younger sister.

"H-hi, Sierra." I gulp. "This is Ahsoka Tano."

Dead silence on the line.

 _"Hello,"_ Sierra says in a measured voice she probably learned from her mother.

"Do you know where Steela and Saw are?" I ask, desperate to get off the phone. I can't hear this; I can't listen to the voice of the person Lux left behind. I just can't, I'll break into tears.

 _"No. Last I saw Steela she was taking me to school. She got sick at work last Friday, some kind of fainting spell or something."_

"She fainted?"

 _"Tandin and Nana think it was low blood sugar, but Saw still took her to the Med Bay."_

That's not good. Steela isn't the fainting type, something would have to be really wrong for her to pass out like that.

"Sierra, can you do me a favor?"

 _"What is it?"_

"Can you go check on Steela?"

 _"Check on Steela?"_

"She isn't answering my calls. How far away from her do you live?"

 _"About six blocks."_

"Six blocks? Can you walk over and check on her? Have her call me if everything's okay."

Sierra shuffles around. _"I guess."_

"Okay. Thank you so much."

Sierra hangs up. I drop the comlink like a hot potato.

"Sierra Bonteri?" Padme asks.

I nod. "Out of every person in the galaxy, I got her? What sick game is the Force playing with me?"

Padme bites her lip. "Ahsoka, maybe it's the way the Force works. Have you talked to her at all since it happened?"

I shake my head. I didn't talk to Sierra after Lux died. Steela didn't either. We just stood back and hugged each other while Tandin broke the news to Sierra and her screams filled the building.

Padme rubs her temples. "I offered to look after her, but she was placed with a family friend. A general, I think?"

"General Tandin," I clarify. "He worked with Mr. Bonteri."

Padme glances over at the clock. "It's late, and you have an appointment with the Soul Healers tomorrow."

I hate Soul Healer appointments.

"Do you want to sleep, or do you want to play holochess?"

The answer is easy as grabbing the holochess board and happily setting out the pieces.

 **SIERRA**

Steela doesn't answer her comm when I call her to try and get out of walking to the Gerreras'. Neither does Saw.

So I yank on a sweater, scribble a note to Tandin so he knows where I am, fold it, and put it on the kitchen table. I put my key in my sweater pocket, make sure to lock the door, and then I'm off down the street to the Gerreras'.

As the sun begins to set, the sky opens up and pours rain. _Ugh, Tandin's going to have a fit. Steela, you better be home._

It's only six blocks to her house, but it feels longer with the rain and the fading light.

As I approach the house, I see Steela's lights shining. If her lights are on, then _why_ isn't she answering her comm?

I ring her doorbell, shivering in the wet and the cold. _Come on Steela, open the door and let me in._

 _"Is that the doorbell?"_

 _"Don't worry, I'll get it."_

The door opens.

"Steela, Ahsoka just called me…who are you?"

Steela isn't in the door frame. Instead, there's a young man where she or Saw usually stands.

The young man furrows his brow. "I would ask you the same."

"Bastian, who is it?" Steela's voice asks.

"I would tell you if I knew."

I try to strategically position myself to be seen around the man's frame. "Steela, it's me."

"Bastian, it's just my friend's kid sister." Steela walks to the front of the room. "Sierra, is there a problem?"

"Yeah. Ahsoka called me because you're not picking up your comlink and she's worried sick."

Steela pulls out her comlink. "Ahsoka? Oh, there are the missed calls, I had it on silent. I guess I'll call her in the morning."

I stare at the man. "Um, who is this guy?"

"This is Bastian." Steela says calmly. "He's come over for dinner tonight."

She pulls at the hem of her shirt; a silky, wine-colored blouse I haven't seen before and doesn't look like hers. It's too tight.

All right, Sierra, do what Mom taught you. If you want to dig, start with a compliment. "That's pretty. Is it Hero's?"

"Thank you. I just got it a few days ago."

Wait, so she actually _bought_ it? Steela hates clothes shopping and even if she went, she would never buy something like that.

The wind gusts, blowing the rain directly into my back and Steela's and Bastian's faces.

"The weather's turning." Bastian notes.

"Sierra, you should get home. It's getting bad out there." Steela implores.

I shiver. "Can I come in for a few minutes? I'm cold."

Bastian looks to Steela. "What about your guardians?"

"Tandin is going to worry if you don't get home. He's got enough on his plate already with the militia." Steela says. "Hurry! I'll see you in the morning."

I would try and convince her, but another gust of wind blows rain into me, and that Bastian guy shuts the door.

 _Well, that didn't go well._

The frigid rain reminds me that I can always talk to Steela in the morning when she takes me to school.

….

"Where have you been?"

I swear Tandin only wears reading glasses for kicks. I could barely see the lights through the rain as I came down the block, and Tandin had already thrown open the door and run down the sidewalk to come get me.

"I was ch-checking on Steela. D-didn't you get m-my note?"

Tandin hands me a towel to dry myself off. "I did. I also called you twice. Sierra, there's a storm blowing in as we speak. I almost went out to go get you."

"S-sorry. I must not have heard them b-because of the rain."

"It's awful out there. Why didn't you stay at the Gerreras'?"

"There was some guy over; Steela didn't let me in."

"Why the force didn't she let you in?" Tandin grumbles, taking my sweater and hanging it by the door. "Sometimes I don't understand that girl…"

"She's acting weird, Tandin. Did she hit her head when she fainted or something?"

Tandin shakes his head. "Advisor Bastian Lockwood was there, and he says she didn't hit her head on anything."

"Bastian is the one who told her not to let me in." I pause. "I mean, he didn't say it straight out but he told her, without telling her."

Tandin nods, the nod all adults master that says _"Sure,_ honey."

"He did!"

"Sierra, go put on some dry clothes before you get sick."

"If she didn't hit her head, then maybe she really is sick. She's not acting like herself, she's not even dressing like she likes to."

Tandin sighs. "Steela is seventeen. People change when they're that age, I know all my friends and I did."

"But not like this! And not so suddenly."

"I'd beg to differ. My brother walked out of the house with a button-down shirt and he walked back in with a nose ring." Tandin counters. "Have you thought that Steela might, for the first time in her life, be in love?"

My gut wrenches. Because if that's what it is, this isn't the first time Steela's been in love.

The last time, it was with Lux.

The story I managed to wrangle out of Hero is that she and Lux only kissed once, right before the mission that he died on.

"Sierra?"

Tandin's face lets me know that he knows he messed up.

I gulp. "I-I'm going to put on some dry clothes."

"Sierra, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I squeak out and race for my bedroom.

Even though the door, I can hear Tandin calling Nana in the other room.

"Mother, please tell me twelve years old is too young for puberty."

And I can hear Nana, who yells into any comlink as if it's a bullhorn, clear as a bell.

 _"Twelve? Oh no, it's just about time for that. The mother's curse will knocking on your door for a good decade now."_

 **A/N: Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? Because I do.**

 **Many of you are attempting to discover who the antagonist of the story is or, in the words of Johnt12345, "can see the evil; creeping into the story." To that, I can only say good luck with putting the puzzle pieces together.**

 **The title of this chapter is taken from "How to Read Literature Like a Professor." That in itself is a hint...if you would like another breadcrumb for your breadcrumb trail, you might want to look into that chapter. :)**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Johnt12345 and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**


	6. Sierra Bueller's Day Off

**CHAPTER FIVE – SIERRA BUELLER'S DAY OFF**

"Mother, I just don't know what to do."

Nana takes a deep breath. _"Gregory, what did she do?"_

"She ran away crying again. She says something's wrong with Steela, but I don't see any issues."

 _"What's wrong with Steela?"_

Tandin rubs his temples. "She said she's acting strangely. I for one think it's just part of being a teenager. Although Sierra just got home soaking wet after checking on her; she stood out in the rain the whole time."

… _.._

Meanwhile, Sierra scoops up her comlink and holo-calls Hero.

Hero's voice is sleepy. _"Hey, Sierra."_

"Hey, Hero. Have you seen Steela lately?"

Hero's wide awake. _"Yeah, I have. Why, did she finally dump that creep?"_

Sierra thanks her lucky stars for Hero's lack of brain-to-mouth filter.

"No, she hasn't. Man, do I have stuff to tell you."

…

Nana's voice escalates into panic mode. _"Does she have dry clothes on now?"_

"I almost went out looking for her but she's home and she's drying off right now. As for why Steela didn't let her in the house, she says that there was a young man over."

 _"Oh, I think I understand. How old is Miss Steela?"_

He tries to summon up Steela's age. "Seventeen."

 _"There it is. At seventeen, it's all about the boys. Every single teenager has wings on their feet. You remember yourself and your brothers, Gregory?"_

Tandin had attempted to block those memories. He really, truly did. "Yes."

 _"You have nothing on teenage girls. Nothing!"_ she cackles. _"Remember how when you and your brothers misbehaved, I said that someday you'd have a child just as bad?"_

"Yes,"

 _"Well, she's arrived! Have fun for the next ten years."_

"Mother, you can't possibly -."

 _"Just remember, Gregory. Someday, those two will have children just as loud and hard-headed as their mothers!"_ She advises. _"But for now, talk to your ward. You have to if you want to have even a little peace with her."_

… _.._

 _"The creep just left you out in the rain?"_

Sierra makes a face. "Yep."

 _"But there's lightning, and thunder, and…Steela would never do that. Once she found out that you existed, she swore on Lu – a few people's graves that she would help take care of you. And Steela keeps her promises."_

"Tandin says it's just growing up, but it doesn't seem right." Sierra eggs Hero on.

 _"I'm with you, sister. Something's up here, I just don't know what it is. Maybe she's on drugs or something."_

Drugs.

A possibility formulates in Sierra's mind.

 _If they're the right drugs...or the right trigger...yes, that could explain it!_

"Hero, do you have the day off work tomorrow?"

 _"Yes. Why?"_

"Want to spy on Bastian Lockwood?"

Hero immediately perks up. _"That sounds_ excellent. _I'll come get you at eight."_

"But school doesn't end until three."

She can sense Hero's irritation halfway across Iziz. _"Honey, think outside the box a little. You don't have to go to school if you get Tandin to call you in. Now, listen carefully."_

 **SIERRA**

"Sierra, your alarm's gone off twice!"

I smile into my pillow. After explaining Tandin's and my schedule to Hero, she gave me foolproof advice for how to convince him that I am sick.

 _"All right. Step one is sleeping through one alarm, but not the second."_ She advised.

"Ugh…Yes." I say groggily, yanking on my baggiest, most comfortable clothes and trudging out of my room to the bathroom. While in there, I brush my teeth and perform the second part of Hero's plan.

When I walk out into the kitchen and Tandin's sight, he freezes for a split second.

"Are you all right?"

I sit down at the table. "My head hurts. Did you turn on the air conditioning in here?"

"Eat your breakfast; that might help."

I go to get the cereal from the cabinet. I'm about to pass Tandin when he grabs my arm and presses the back of his hand to my forehead.

"You're warm. I'll get the thermometer from the bathroom."

 _"All right," Hero said. "The next thing you have to do is run really hot water over your forehead and hold the thermometer up to the lightbulb. Just make sure the numbers don't go too high, if Tandin gets nervous you'll end up in a doctor's office."_

Tandin glances at the readout. "You have a fever. Go back to bed, I'm calling you in."

 _Victory!_

"Okay. Have a nice day." I tell him, trudging back to the bedroom.

He's taking out his comlink, punching in numbers. I can't believe it was that easy!

"Your Nana will know if I should take the day off."

I can't believe I thought it would be that easy.

 _Please, oh please let Nana not pick up the comlink! She had three kids, she's bound to recognize Hero's three-step program for skipping school._

Tandin stands there for a while, then sighs. "She's not answering."

 _Oh boy, Hero never went over what to do if something goes south. When Lux skipped school, he walked the line of sick and well. Maybe I can pull that off._

"I'm fine, Tandin. I can go to school."

"Not with a temperature, you're not." He punches in the number for the school office. "I guess I'll be going to work, but I want you to call me every two hours to check in, understood?"

"Yes," I say and plod back into my room, sitting on my bed until I hear the front door shut. I sneak into the living room and look out the window. Yes, he's halfway down the block. _I did it!_

I grab my key card. Tandin won't get home until a little after five, and it's seven right now. Hero and I have ten hours to spy on Bastian.

…

"All right, so what are we looking for again?"

Hero shrugs. "Drugs. Anything that can mess up someone's mind."

"Okay," I bite my lip, a little hesitant to come out with my theory. "Um, what about hypnosis?"

Hero blinks. "Hypnosis?"

"When Lux and I were kids, we used to hypnotize each other for fun," I explain. "It really does work."

"You think Steela's in a trance?"

"Not that different from drugs. And it doesn't show up on drug tests."

Hero pauses, but it doesn't take a bloodhound to smell her disbelief. "Okay, let's say you're right and he is hypnotizing her. What would he need to pull that off?"

I rack my brain. "Some kind of hypnotic trigger. Lux used a pendant on me, but it can be anything. I read about some guy who hypnotized his friend with an X shape."

Hero sighs.

"That would explain why she seems normal when he's not around, but once he rears his creepy head she's all happy-happy-joy-joy, Bastian-is-my-one-true-love." She rolls her eyes. "Force, I want to smack some sense into her but I know that won't work."

Ever since Bastian made Steela leave me out in a storm, I'd have to agree. "Okay, so are we breaking into his house?"

"Yup…"

I pause. "Okay."

There are worse things I could do than break into Bastian Lockwood's house. Such as, skip school and then break into Bastian Lockwood's house.

 _Oh. I already did that._

…

In all honesty, I should have expected it: Hero and I find next to nothing.

No books on hypnosis. No mind-altering drugs. No mind control devices, at least nothing that looks like one.

Nothing. Just a normal apartment.

"All right, do you want to go home and eat lunch?" Hero asks. "Because it's almost noon, and -." Her comlink cuts her off and she looks down at Caller ID. "Hutch? Hang on, I'd better take this. He's supposed to be on the clock." She picks up. "Hello?"

 _"Guys!"_ Hutch half-whispers. _"Tandin is in my checkout line at the Reddy Mart!"_

 **THIRD PERSON**

Sierra nearly chokes on her tongue. "What?"

 _"Tandin is waiting in line for me to check him out."_ Hutch whispered hurriedly. _"And unless he's got a cold and magically doesn't have any symptoms, he's going home to check on Sierra. He's got cough drops and chicken soup in his hands."_

Hero and Sierra were halfway out the door at that point. "He must be going to check on her during his lunch break. Hutch, try and stall him!

Hutch rolls his eyes. _"Stall him? Babe, I am the Cashier From Hell. 'Technical difficulties' are my middle name."_

…

"Hi, General Tandin. Did you find everything all right today?"

Tandin nods. "I did. How are you today, Hutch?"

"I'm fine," Hutch says cheerfully, strategically scanning an item with his thumb over the barcode. "Uh-oh, hang on. Looks like this one isn't scanning. I can look it up in the inventory for you. What brand and size is this?"

…

Sierra races into her house, skins out of her clothes and into her pajamas, and jumps into bed. Hero takes off down the block, praying she won't run into Tandin.

When she sees him coming, she pulls her hood up over her face. _Come on, Tandin. Don't look at me, don't look at me…_

He doesn't. The general walks right past her and up to his front door.

"Sierra, I'm home. Where are you?"

Sierra trudges out of her room, a blanket wrapped around her for extra effect. Tandin raises an eyebrow. "You're flushed. Do you feel worse?"

Sierra nods, even though it's guilt and not illness that makes her feel worse. Tandin touches her forehead again.

"You're warmer. Go sit down, I'll bring you some lunch in a minute." He says, and picks up his comlink to say that he will not be coming in the rest of today, he has a personal issue to tend to.

…

Two hours later, the doorbell rings. Tandin opens it to a young boy.

"Hi," the boy says. "My name's Ean Gould and I'm in Sierra's class at school. The teachers sent her assignments home with me."

He holds out a folder full of holodisks.

"Thank you," Tandin says evenly, taking the folder.

"Um, can I come in for a while? I left my keys in the house, and my older brother Griff won't be home for an hour to let me in."

"Of course," Tandin says, stepping aside to allow Ean entry to the house. "Sierra, your classmate Ean is here. Please come out of your room."

…

As the two teenagers awkwardly socialize, Tandin reflects on the fact that he can tell the difference between faces flushed by fever and ones heated simply from exertion.

 **A/N: Oh Sierra, Hero's plot is no match for Tandin's intuition and experience. Never try to fool the General who knows fibbing skills run in your family.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Johnt12345, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**


	7. Tandin Rooney's Revenge

**CHAPTER SIX – TANDIN ROONEY'S REVENGE**

 **SIERRA**

I'm woken from my sleep by a whistle and Tandin's yelling voice.

"Wake up!" he shouts, and blows the whistle again.

"Tandin, is something wrong? What time is it?" My blurry vision focuses on the clock. _"Four o'clock in the morning?"_

Tandin pulls the whistle from his mouth. "What a miraculous recovery you made tonight, Sierra. Your fever simply disappeared as if it was never there in the first place."

Oh, I am in so much trouble.

"If there is one thing I do not allow in my house, it's lying." Tandin says. "And because my mother is not answering her comlink, I'm going to do with you what I do with my recruits." When I don't ask him what that is, he clarifies: "IT, or Intense Training."

Once he says that, I know I'm dead meat. I'm the first to admit I am honestly, ridiculously wimpy. When I was with Lux, I would whine about the strain grocery bags put on my spaghetti-weak arm muscles until he told me to shut up.

Something tells me that I'm not going to get off that easy with Tandin.

"Up!" He repeats, and before he can blow the whistle again I'm halfway down the hall.

…

As I drag myself into school four hours later, every muscle in my body hurts. I slink into my desk hating running, sit-ups, push-ups, and Tandin.

"Are you feeling better?"

I look up. Sitting in the desk next to me is Ean Gould, smiling like a news anchor.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." I grumble.

Ean rubs the back of his neck. "Thanks for letting me stay at your house while my brother was out. Your guardian is really nice."

I can't stop the laugh from forcing out of my throat. Ean looks at me strangely. "I mean, you are too. You both are really, um, really nice."

"Thank you," I say, trying to take my mind off my aching muscles

Ean perks up. "I think we're going to do group projects today." He announces.

"Okay. Thanks for the heads-up. And thanks for bringing my stuff over."

"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all!" Ean says cheerily, almost creepily. "Actually-."

BREET!

 _Saved by the bell._

The teacher calls attention to the front of the classroom. "Good morning, students. Like I discussed yesterday, we're going to begin our group project today. I want you guys to work in partners, maybe one group of three."

Per Steela's instructions two weeks ago, I start scoping the classroom for potential partners. There – two seats in front of me and to the right is a girl with black hair and a yellow headband. She seemed nice in my other classes.

"What's this project about again?" someone asks.

The teacher glances down at the lesson plan. "The Mandalorian Wars. You'll be creating a holo presentation to present to the class. All right, get into partners!"

I'm about to summon some energy remaining after Tandin's punishment training to dart toward Yellow Headband's desk when I almost run smack into somebody.

"Do you want to be partners?" Ean asks, his voice cracking at the end.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Yellow Headband pairing up with another girl. And – force bless it, a group of boys just clotted together to make the group of three.

I put on the "pleased" face my parents taught me.

"Sure, Ean."

…

Never before in my life have I been more interested in the Mandalorian Wars.

"So, do you want to focus on the Battle of Dxun?" I ask, referencing one of our planet's moons. "We shouldn't have any trouble finding information on that."

Ean blinks. "That sounds like a good idea."

"Great. If we start working now, and we each take some work home we should be able to get this done in no time." I say, grabbing a holobook and trying not to daydream about this project being over.

"We're supposed to work together. Do you want to come over to my house after school?"

Well, I do have one thing to thank Tandin for. "I'm pretty sure I'm grounded."

"That's not a problem. With my luck, Griff will lock me out of the house again tonight."

I mentally place Tandin and Ean on a mental scale and try to weigh the pros and cons of each.

I wish Hero was here. Or that Steela wasn't acting like she's on drugs. Because right now, the number one thing I need is a female friend.

 **SAW**

I watch from the corner as my sister walks down the hallway of the Royal Palace hand-in-hand with Bastian Lockwood.

I've never seen Steela so happy since the early stages of the rebellion, when I dragged everyone into a plot to throw her a birthday party. She was shocked to see a dessert sitting on the table, with HAPPY BIRTHDAY spelled out in strawberries, while Dono wrapped a cartridge of ammunition in newspaper and Lux played "Happy Birthday" on the piano.

Lux was a horrible piano player and Dono almost burned the dessert, but Steela was thrilled with everything. After that day, I rarely saw a smile on her face except…well, now.

My sister has flipped head over heels in love with the other advisor. When she comes home, all she talks about is him. When she sees him, she's all smiles. I think she's taken her lunches with Bastian more than she takes them with me. In all honesty, I was expecting this. As much as I've tried to ignore it, Steela is pretty and extroverted. When we were kids, our parents predicted that guys would be lining up for her. Unfortunately for the guys (but fortunately for me) she's too enamored with Bastian to care about anyone else.

I wave at the two of them coming off the turbolift. "Hey, sis."

Steela waves back. "Saw, do you want to come to lunch with us and one of Bastian's friends?"

Lunch sounds good. "When are you guys going?"

Bastian speaks up. "Right now, the restaurant's just down the street. Griff's going to meet us there."

I glance at the clock. "Give me a minute to clock out and I'll be ready."

…

Steela and Bastian are in their own little world the whole time, leaving me and the other third wheel, Griff, to talk over our sandwiches.

"So, you're in the militia?" Griff asks, taking a bite.

"Yeah. Gives me a chance to keep training." I reply. "I like the open jungle more, though."

"Me too," Griff says. "My dad took my little brother Ean and I out there to hunt. We have a special spot out there; it's been in the family for generations. Do you hunt?"

I nod. "Me and Steela both."

The sound of her name apparently draws Steela out of her conversation long enough to say "Saw, I'm done with that."

I stare at her. "But you love hunting."

Steela finger-combs her hair off her forehead. "Lately, I haven't had that much interest in it at all." She says, and then goes back to Bastian.

Two can play at this game. I call my attention back to Griff.

"I have some spots too. I've taken Hutch out once or twice."

"Maybe when hunting season starts up next week, we could go out for some Tee-muss?"

I nod. "I think we'll have to get on board with that. You could bring your brother and I could bring Hutch."

Griff nods. "Sounds like a plan. We'll have to meet up later to set a date."

"I'll tell Hutch to take some time off work." He'll be happy to get away from his cash register for a while, even if it means being separated from his beloved electronics. Hutch was the rebellion's greatest technological asset. He knew how to do surveillance from miles away.

At the front of the restaurant, the bell to alert the servers that food is ready rings. Steela blinks hard.

"You okay, Stee?"

Steela shakes her head. "What's going on?"

Bastian takes her hand. "You were acting like this when you fainted in my office. You might be having another spell."

"Fainted…in your office?" Steela asks, unbelievingly. "When did I faint in your office?"

Oh, this is bad.

"Steela, it was two weeks ago." I prompt. "You and Bastian were talking about the fire code and you passed out at his desk. Twice."

"How do you pass out twice?"

Bastian looks terrified. "Steela, let's go outside for some air. Saw, Griff, stay here and watch the table."

Oh, like hell am I leaving my sister behind. "I'm coming with you." I say, coming to Steela's other side and closing ranks with her and Bastian. "Just in case something does happen to you."

Steela takes my hand. "Thanks, Saw."

The service bell goes off again, and she exhales deeply.

"Steela?"

Steela releases my hand and leans back against Bastian. "I'm okay now. I must have gotten confused or something," she says.

Bastian grabs her. "You completely forgot what happened two weeks ago. I think we should go."

"Motion seconded." I announce, throw some credits on the table, and follow him as we speed out of the place.

…

The medical droid agrees with Steela. She, as she has stated multiple times, is fine.

 **THIRD PERSON**

Bastian sits in Griffin Gould's living room about the time Ean's due to come home from school.

"That was too close."

"No joke, Bastian! We can cross that entire restaurant off our list, who knew it used call bells?"

Bastian stiffens in his seat. "She's defiant by nature. Once the bell sounded, she came out of the trance. It's a good thing the transitions give her a headache, that was the only way we managed to salvage it."

"Do you think the brother knows?

Bastian shakes his head. "Any medical droid will write her a clean bill of health. All you have to do is get him and the other one to go out hunting, and we'll be fine."

Griff's mind flashes to Hutch's girlfriend, the angry waitress. She might create problems. "Tee-muss season starts in a week. You have a deadline to make, too."

"I know. Tomorrow, everything will be in line. We just have to set up one last piece."

"Don't worry about that. He'll melt once he hears about the prize."

The "last piece" opens the door to his house, a thin smile on his face.

"Hey, dork." Griff taunts. "Did you carry your study buddy's books?"

Ean glares up at his brother. "Shut up!"

"Ean, I have a fascinating offer to make you." Bastian announces.

Ean scoffs. "Like what?"

Bastian pulls back the curtain on the window, allowing Ean to see out the window to the apartment building across the street, where Sierra Bonteri uses her house key to open her front door.

"You see that girl?"

Ean shields his eyes against the sun. "Sierra? What about her?"

"You want to marry her?"

A thrill of hope flickers in Ean's gut, but dies as soon as it's born. "I guess. But she doesn't like me."

Bastian shakes his head in disappointment. "That doesn't matter. If you want that girl to be your wife someday, all you have to do is listen closely."

 **A/N: Now, has it become clear what's happened to Steela?**

 **There was one clue planted in the second chapter ("Victorian Lady"). Does anyone remember the last thing Steela saw before fainting the first time? If you do, internet cookies for you.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, RoseRavenclaw and Johnt12345 for your reviews. And speaking of reviews, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister.**


	8. The Puzzle Comes Together

**CHAPTER SEVEN – THE PUZZLE COMES TOGETHER**

 **HERO**

There are a few things about my job that keep me from yanking off my apron and quitting whenever a nasty customer sits down in my section. For one, I really need my job if I want to eat tonight, much less pay a college tuition.

The other, less pragmatic reason is my coworkers. People give hairstylists a bad reputation for being gossips, but if two Good Eats waitresses are in the same place for more than ten seconds we give the hairdressers a run for their money.

After the breakfast rush, a coworker draws customer duty while the rest of us wrap silverware, brew pots of caf, and wipe down our empty tables.

Grace has the gossip floor today. She's regaling all of us with a story from the diner down the street, where she works part-time.

"So I'm off on the other side of the restaurant taking care of a table, and guess who walks in?"

"Who, the king?"

Grace shakes her head. "No, Steela and Saw Gerrera. They came in for lunch yesterday with these two other guys. One of them was that Griff person, and I'm thinking the other was Steela's boyfriend?"

"Dark hair and sideburns?" I ask.

"Yeah!"

"I know him," I grumble. Apparently, Steela still hasn't dumped Bastian.

"So they come in," Grace continues, "And they're talking and eating their lunch when the call bell goes off. And you would have thought someone set a firecracker off the way Steela acted."

I wrinkle my nose. "How so?"

"She acts like she has a migraine and the guys are taking her outside to get some air before they decide whether or not to take her to the Med Bay. Then my call bell went off so I had to get some food and when I came back, she kept on insisting she was fine while Saw and her boyfriend practically drag her out." Grace explains. "Hero, do you know what's going on?"

"Why are you asking me?" I ask, even though I know the answer.

"Because you know her," one of the line cooks shouts over the sizzle of frying oil.

 _Uh-oh, Hero. Time to make up some random BS and explain this away so it doesn't look suspicious later._ "She has allergies. Whenever there's a lot of pollen in the air she gets headaches." I lie.

"Really? Weird." Grace says.

"Yeah, I know." I glance at the door. No approaching customers. "Hang on, guys. I'm going to check the milk in the fridge."

…

Of course, I'm not actually checking the milk. Since one of the dishwashers started the rumor that it was haunted, nobody goes in the back room of the Good Eats Diner unless they have to.

When my comlink has been ringing for a few seconds, Sierra picks up.

 _"Hero, this better be fast. I told my teacher I had to get a drink of water."_

"Well my boss thinks I'm checking expiration dates on milk, so I will. One of my coworkers was spying on Bastian and Steela. You're right, I think he is hypnotizing her."

 _"But we didn't find anything in his house."_ Sierra points out.

"That's because he's not using stuff from his house. I think he's using bells! One of my coworkers works at a restaurant they went to, and she says something happened to Steela after a bell rang."

 _"Bells?"_ Sierra's voice sounds a little sticky. _"You can work with bells, but they're harder to manipulate than a pendant or a cue card. I never used them, and Lux didn't start with them until he was experienced."_

"Well, did Lux use them on you?"

 _"Lux used everything on me. I can't even count how many times he hypnotized me into robbing the cookie jar for him until I figured out how to stop him."_

"Sierra, does coming in and out of hypnosis hurt? Like, give you a headache or make you pass out?"

 _"Everybody reacts differently. I get really drowsy, Lux would get really, really energetic. Steela might get headaches. But if he is hypnotizing her, then what does he want?"_

"I don't know, what does Steela have that a guy might want besides a six-figure salary, a hot body, closeness to the King, and heroine status to the entire planet of Onderon?"

 _"…True."_

I look over my shoulder. "Okay, listen. We need to find the bell to snap her out of it. I'll pick you up after school to go looking."

 _"Actually, that's not going to work."_ Sierra says flatly. _"Tandin is dragging me out to the jungle for intense training once school's over and if I don't show up he's going to boil me alive."_

"Intense training? What the -."

 _"I got busted yesterday."_

 _What?_ How did she get busted? I used that trick to get out of school dozens of times.

"Okay, I'll think something up. If you think of something else send it as a HoloMail and I'll read it when I get a chance."

 _"All right, I guess. I'll talk to you later."_

As I check the expiration dates on the milk for real, my mind processes the information. Sierra is going to be gone all day for punishment training and there's no way I can break into Bastian's home or office on my own. I need a lookout, I need an ally…

A lightbulb goes off in my brain.

I need Hutch.

…

Hutch smiles at his computer while lines of code, their meanings unknown to me, scroll down the screen.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

Hutch gestures to the screen. "What I do best. I'm hacking in."

I tent my eyes against Bastian's office window. "I don't see any bells in the room, but I'll have to get inside to be sure."

"Hero, you're telling me that Bastian _hypnotized_ Steela?"

I pause. There really isn't a good way to explain this. "Yes. Yes he did."

"How do you hypnotize someone like Steela without everyone noticing?" Hutch asks.

"Like I know. Sierra says that it's really complicated but basically, Bastian rang a bell and linked it to a suggestion in Steela's mind. It's like trying to explain what's going on in that computer of yours."

Hutch bites his lip. "That's easy. I'm using my computer to remote-access Bastian's computer, and some other servers around town that hold his records. Which, if I may remind you, is a felony!"

I hug him from behind. "I love you?"

"It's a good thing _I_ love _you."_ Hutch grumbles and continues to manipulate the keys. "You're sure gonna miss me when I go on my hunting trip next weekend."

"Who are you going with?" I ask, resting my chin on his shoulder to watch the screen.

"Saw, Griff, and Ean."

I stiffen. "Griff? As in restaurant Griff who says creepy things about me and my coworkers?"

Hutch winces. "Yeah, that Griff."

I'm about to say something when Hutch leaps to his own defense. "I'm only going so Saw has someone to talk to. I probably won't say much to Griff except hello and goodbye."

I relax a little. "I'd make me feel better if you got a Tee-muss…and some information for me right now."

Hutch smiles. "Tee-muss, I'm not sure about. Information, on the other hand…"

The code stops scrolling and Hutch smiles. "There we go. Bastian Lockwood seems straight as an arrow. He's got a nice bank account, all his house payments are up-to-date, good grades in college. His credit cards are fine, he hasn't even missed a payment."

"Has he bought a pendant or a bell recently?"

Hutch shakes his head. "In the last thirty days, not with a credit card. He could have paid cash though."

My eyes are focused on one entry in Bastian's purchase queue.

"Hutch, is that what I think it is?"

Hutch follows my gaze to the entry.

"Oh my God."

I turn my head to his already-turned face, so close our noses touch. If this was a movie, we would kiss.

But it's not a movie. It's real, although I desperately wish it not to be.

Hutch breaks the silence. "We need to find Steela right now."

 **SAW**

Bastian really went all-out tonight.

"Good evening, Steela." He greets, taking my sister's coat and hanging it on a hook by the door.

I shake his hand. "Nice to see you."

Bastian gestures toward his dining room. "Sit down, please."

He continues talking, but it's mostly to Steela and I can see something far more appealing than conversation on the table: a platter of something steaming that smells delicious and a bottle of expensive-looking wine.

Between the smell of dinner, the joy on Steela's face, and the soft candlelight bathing the room, it's a small miracle I register the buzzing of my comlink.

I duck around the corner and mutter into it. "Gerrera."

 _"Saw, where's Steela?"_ Hutch cries.

"She's with me. Why?"

 _"Okay, where are you?"_

I pause. "At Bastian's house. He's having us over for dinner."

Hero's voice leaks through. _"Tell him not to go in! He needs to get Steela and go."_

 _"Saw, you need to get Steela back to your house."_ Hutch implores.

"We just got here, Hutch. She's smiling, she's having a fantastic time already."

 _"She's in really big trouble! You have to get her out of there!"_

 _Trouble?_ What kind of trouble could Steela possibly be in here? There are no guns pointed at us, Bastian is eating the same food and drinking the same wine as us, I see no thermal detonators raring to go off, nor any tabloid reporters or cameras trying to make a juicy, salacious story out of a dinner date.

"Hutch, I'm here. She's fine." I argue, shutting off the comlink connection and taking a seat at the dinner table.

Bastian pulls out Steela's chair for her, and then seats himself.

…

We eat dinner. We drink wine. We make pleasant conversation about the weather.

Steela's still smiling, the candlelight reflecting off the gold glitter she's applied to her eyes. I haven't seen her in makeup for a long time, it's not something you pay much attention to in the jungle. But even to a beauty dunce like me, I can tell it looks pretty and the gold color sets off her green eyes.

Bastian clears his throat and stands up.

"Steela, I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Steela asks.

I feel my hackles go up. Oh man, maybe that's what Hutch and Hero were talking about when they said she was in big trouble! Bastian seems like a nice guy, I wouldn't expect him to break up with Steela so cruelly.

But that doesn't happen.

Bastian takes something out of his jacket pocket, and drops to one knee.

"Steela," he says. "I have loved you ever since you walked into my office that day."

Steela's breath hitches in her throat.

"I know this is crazy," he admits, opening the box to reveal a diamond ring. "But I will never find a woman who can love as much as I love you. We were made for each other, and so I'd like to ask you this question.

"Will you marry me?"

Steela's eyes fill with tears of joy.

 _"Yes!"_ she blubbers. "Yes, of course!"

Bastian exhales deeply, places the ring on her finger, and stands.

I watch as Steela, my _newly-engaged_ younger sister, kisses her fiancé the same way she kissed Lux.

 **A/N: *Whistles innocently***

 **Hey, on the bright side we saw the return of Hutch, "Cashier from Hell" St. James! Who stands a chance against Hutch's computer skills?**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	9. The Heir and the Spare

**CHAPTER EIGHT – THE HEIR AND THE SPARE**

 **SIERRA**

I know better than to whine when Tandin finally decides I've had enough physical training for the day. It seems as if he knows that if I have energy to vocalize, he'll send me on another run down some long, winding trail. I only ran the circuit once before I found and decided to use the shortcut.

"The shortcut" is basically a tiny footpath that cuts straight through the circuit, pretty much cutting its distance in half. I hide in the jungle until enough time has passed, and then I get back on the main trail.

If Tandin knew about it he'd run the drills right next to me. But I'm not Mina Bonteri's daughter for nothing. By the time I emerged, Tandin didn't bat an eyelash.

On the way home, Tandin's comm rings.

"Sierra, who is it?"

I check the caller ID. "It's Steela."

Tandin grabs the comlink from my and answers it. "Hello, Steela."

 _"General Tandin, you're never going to believe what happened!"_ Steela half-squeals. _"Bastian proposed!"_

 _What?_

I grab my own comlink out of my pocket and check the notifications. Four missed comms from Hero, and then a message. I check the message.

 **Sierra, why aren't you answering your comlink? Hutch found a diamond ring on Bastian's credit card report! Call me back ASAP!**

Uh-oh.

"That's wonderful," Tandin says to Steela. "Have you two set a date?"

 _"Yes! We're going to have the wedding in two weeks. Saw and Hutch should be back from their hunting trip by then."_

Tandin's eyes widen. "Two weeks?"

 _"Yes. We found the greatest wedding dress and there aren't many alterations, so that's not an issue because the seamstress said she can do it if she puts it as a rush order. And then Bastian managed to get the Unifar Temple booked. It was so easy, everything just fell into place."_

 _Or everything had been planned beforehand,_ I think, _by someone who decided hypnosis is a good way to get married._

But I don't have to say anything. Tandin has his head squarely on his shoulders. "Steela, I think you need to cool down and take a step back."

Steela sounds hurt. _"Y-you don't want to come? You're not happy for us?"_

"No, I'm very happy for you." Tandin recovers. "But I think you are rushing headlong into this. How long have you known Bastian?"

 _"We've been dating for a month. But -."_

"Steela, you are a very intelligent young woman." Tandin says evenly. Steela wouldn't even know that his face is twisted in a mask of shock and worry. "One month is far too short to truly get to know someone else. You need to have a long engagement, at the very least."

 _"Why would we need a long engagement?"_

Tandin sighs. "Steela, what is Bastian's middle name?"

 _"Joseph."_

"What is his best friend's name?"

 _"Griff."_

"Favorite food?"

 _"Chocolate, I think."_

The tone in Tandin's voice signals me that his foot is about to come down. "Steela, you barely know him. What if after you marry him, he turns out to be a horrible husband? What if he and Saw don't like each other?"

 _"Saw likes him just fine."_ Steela argues. _"In fact, Saw and Hutch are going on a hunting trip tomorrow with two of Bastian's friends. One of them is in Sierra's class, I think his name's Ean."_

I cringe.

Since Tandin let him in the house, Ean Gould has gotten progressively weirder around me. Yesterday at school, he appeared at my locker.

 _"Hi, Sierra. Do you want some help with your books?" he asked, rubbing a hand through his hair._

 _I blinked. "Uh, I've already got them. Thanks though."_

 _"Any time! Um…did you have any ideas for our project? Because I did a bunch of research at home yesterday. Do you want to talk about it at lunch?"_

 _"I don't think we have the same lunch period."_

 _"Oh, right." He perked right back up. "We can talk about it in class and maybe get together after school. That would be good. I'm going on a hunting trip in a few days, so it would have to be today or tomorrow."_

Thank goodness I used my lunch period to work on the project and somehow managed to get it done.

Tandin barely pays me any attention "Steela, you need to take a breath and calm down…no, I don't mean that, of course I don't mean that…why don't you give Ahsoka a call and talk to her about it? She's very wise... Oh, she didn't pick up? Well, why don't you try again?"

He goes into the kitchen to keep talking with Steela while I sit down in the living room and call Hero.

She picks up on the first ring. _"It's about time!"_

"Tandin had me out in the jungle." I defend myself. "Bastian proposed?"

Hero swears. _"Yeah, did you hear the wedding's in two weeks?"_

"Tandin's trying to talk Steela out of it right now but from what I hear, she's not budging."

 _"Even Hutch thinks something's off."_ Hero worries. _"He doesn't believe the hypnosis story, but he knows something's going on."_

"Did you find the bell?"

 _"No, Hutch found the ring on the credit card report before I could do anything, and once we realized what it was all we cared about was stopping the proposal. But Saw didn't listen to us when we told him to take Steela home right away."_

"That's going to be a problem." If we can't convince Saw of the story, then Steela might as well have already said "I do". "Where is he right now?"

 _"Probably with Hutch, packing for the hunting trip they're going on tomorrow."_ Hero says with distaste.

"This isn't going to work. We need more allies. We need…" an idea forms in my mind. "Ahsoka!"

 _"Ahsoka? How do you propose getting Ahsoka to Onderon?"_ Hero cries.

"Well last the HoloNet news said, she's on leave. So all we need to go is go pick her up."

 _"One problem, Sierra: getting to Coruscant costs money. I don't have any; all my tips are going toward my electric bill!"_

"Money's not a problem. After Lux," I gulp, "died, I became the heir to House Bonteri. I should be able to access the funds."

 _"...Oh my God!"_

"What?"

Hero's voice rises in panic. _"Sierra, you're the youngest! You didn't inherit your family's holdings until after your brother died."_

I bite my lip. "Yeah? So?"

 _"So is Steela!"_

I pause, letting her words sink in. Steela's what?

And then it hits me: Steela is two years younger than Saw.

"If Bastian marries Steela then he has access to all her holdings, but the only way for a younger sibling to gain access to the family's house is…"

 _"If Saw dies."_ Hero finishes. _"And he's planning on going out into the jungle on a hunting trip with two of Bastian's lackeys."_

Everything that can happen to you in the jungle starts to stack up before my eyes. You can be eaten by wild beasts, fall off a Ruping or Daglo, get lost and die of dehydration, fall off a cliff or into a hole, get shot in the back by one of your companions…

 _"Sierra, is there a clock near you? What time is it?"_

I look at the clock. "It's almost seven."

 _"Oh God, they left already!"_

I'm already running toward the computer, trying to remember my parents' bank account number.

 _"Hang up and buy tickets to Coruscant!"_ Hero orders. _"I'm going to call Hutch!"_

I boot up the computer and pull up the travel agency's website. Hero and I can hitch a ride on a transport, and from there we can try to hunt down Ahsoka.

There's just one problem: for me to access my money, I need an adult's approval. Hero will not work. There's no way Tandin will come with me, so that leaves me with one last option.

I pick up the comlink yet again.

"Nana, have you ever wanted to go to Coruscant?"

 _"You bet your bottom dollar I have, but your grandfather would never take me!"_ Nana announces. _"He said it was noisy enough in Iziz and that was all he needed. And after he died, Gregory wouldn't take me either."  
_

The idea solidifies. "So, do you want to go to Coruscant, like, _today?"_

 **PADME**

"Anakin, what is this?"

"What is what?"

I hold up the piece of flimsi. "You know what I'm talking about, Anakin. What is _this?_ Why do the Soul Healers need a permission note?"

Anakin grimaces. "Padme, you and I both know that Ahsoka isn't getting any better. It's been some months since her friend died; she needs to move on."

I start to read the flimsi. "Anakin, you wouldn't."

"I know it sounds questionable, but it's the best option for her in the long run."

I crumple the sheets. " _Electroconvulsive therapy?_ Which could end up _erasing her memories of Lux?"_

Anakin nods sadly.

"Anakin, that's heinous!" I shout. "That's dishonoring the friendship those two shared. It's the ultimate disrespect to his family, to Ahsoka! You're going to allow the Soul Healers to remove pieces of her mind?"

"Padme…"

I pull out the oldest trick in the book: trap your opponent between a rock and a hard place. "If something happened to me, would you want them to do this to you? Use electricity to erase your memories of me?" I demand.

Anakin responds just like I thought he would. "No, of course not. But -."

"But nothing. It's your job to support and protect Ahsoka through this dark time, not cause her more damage."

"The Council is getting suspicious." Anakin says. "This is affecting her performance. Padme, if we don't go through with this, they might take Ahsoka away from me and do it to her."

"If you won't protect her, I will." I growl. "Ahsoka is staying with me for a while. Tell the Council it's for extra security."

"Padme, listen."

"I don't care if you never liked him. I was a friend of his family, and I will not allow you to dishonor him and dishonor Ahsoka like this." I snap. "I'm going to pick Ahsoka up right now. If she doesn't know what I mean when I ask her about our trip to Raxus, then it's your head."

 **A/N: At least the girls and Padme caught on to this before it was too late. Unfortunately, Hutch isn't answering his comlink…**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics, Johnt12345, and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	10. Forget Me Not

**CHAPTER NINE – FORGET ME NOT**

 **PADME**

"Do you remember what month we took our trip to Raxus?" I ask when Ahsoka gets into my speeder.

She shrinks a little and says "July."

I've never been happier for such a negative response. It means Anakin hasn't let the Soul Healers wipe Ahsoka's mind yet.

To my pointed gaze, he only looks downward at his feet. That's the first time the word "coward" comes to mind when I think of Anakin Skywalker.

"Thank you for agreeing to be my extra security for a while," I say loudly enough for anyone standing by to hear. Once the speeder door closes, I add "We're going to have so much fun tonight."

"We are?" Ahsoka asks, eye marking cocked.

"Of course we are. We can do each other's nails, sit and watch some holomovies, eat fondue…" My mind races to find some other things to do. "We can play holochess and make some snacks. Maybe I can give you some lessons on politics."

"Padme, what's happening? Lux's birthday isn't until February."

Uh-oh. She's got me there. "I just thought it would be a nice night to have a girls' night in." I lie. Well, it's technically the truth. Another idea pops into my mind. "We could even go shopping!"

Ahsoka cringes a little, bringing relief. She hates shopping with every bone in her body. "How about another time, Padme?"

"We can pick another time." I agree. "Until then, I'll order some Mon Calamari food and have Threepio pick it up."

 _And while she's eating,_ I think, _I'm going to shout down the whole Jedi Council if I have to._

…

With Ahsoka parked in my dining room with a carton of Mon Calamari takeout, I tell her I need to take an important Senate call, duck into my living room, and fire up the holoprojector.

Instead of selecting Anakin from the list of contacts, I simply hit redial. When Anakin looks up, I can tell he knows exactly what's going to come out of my mouth.

 _"Padme, the Council says I have to do it."_ He says without preface. _"Unless Ahsoka makes a swift, miraculous recovery on her own, I have to do it."_

"Then let it be known that Ahsoka's going to be staying as my security guard for an extended period of time." I snap. "If they say she needs to switch assignments, tell them I'm teaching her about politics."

The last time Anakin sent Ahsoka with me to learn about politics, we went to Raxus and met the Bonteri family.

Anakin closes his eyes.

 _"I'll tell them that, and I'll work on them. Maybe I can make up some signs of improvement."_ He says.

 _Well, Ahsoka didn't go on a murderous rampage after Lux died. That's more than one person in this conversation can say._

"Do that," I say in the same voice I use on the podium. "I'll call you in the morning."

I shut off the phone with an amount of disgust previously thought impossible. Destroying Ahsoka's memories isn't just heinous, it's dishonorable! If Sierra heard, she would be horrified. Mina, John, and Lux are probably rolling in their graves, and if Mina was alive I doubt the Council would have any nerve left after she got done with them.

But I'm not Mina, so I can't go around making Jedi Masters cry. Instead I smooth the lines of anger from my face and return to the kitchen where Ahsoka sits eating her dinner.

"I'm sorry," I say, picking up my own carton and digging into the seafood. "So, did you have a nice day today?"

Ahsoka shrugs. "Barriss and I studied in the Archives. It was productive, at least."

"Have you gone to see the Soul Healers?"

"My appointment is tomorrow, but Anakin says it's been canceled since I'm here. They've never canceled one before."

If I could breathe an enormous sigh of relief without her noticing that something is off, I would.

"That's strange," I say. "We'll just have to have a soul healing day for ourselves."

Hopefully, that covers the problem on my end. If Anakin finally manages to gather the courage to put his foot down and stand up to the Council about wiping Ahsoka's memory, that would be lovely.

Until then, Ahsoka's just going to stay here with me.

Ahsoka tips the carton of takeout. "What place is this from?"

I jump at the new topic of conversation. "Oh, it's this tiny, hole-in-the-wall shop. Senators Organa and Mothma introduced me to it and once they did, I was hooked. I even brought a carton with me when I returned back to Naboo."

Ahsoka smiles. "I can see why."

"We might have to stop by and sit down there," I say, just as my comlink goes off and I glance down to see who it is.

"Ahsoka, I'm so sorry but I really need to take this."

"That's alright. Who is..?" Ahsoka cranes her neck to see the screen, and trails off.

Flashing in red is the word BONTERI.

On Raxus, Mina gave me her children's comlink numbers just in case they needed me. The last call I received was the one which alerted me to Lux's death. I can think of a few reasons Sierra would be calling me, none of them good. I snatch up the device. "Hello?"

 _"Hi, Senator Amidala. It's Sierra, Mina's daughter. How are you?"_

"I'm doing very well. How are you?" I ask, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 _"Oh, I'm great. Uh, what's your address?"_

There it is. I struggle to keep the panic out of my voice. "Why do you need my address?"

 _"It's nothing serious, I swear."_ She says over the sound of a speeder racing past. Not something you would hear on Onderon…

Realization hits me. "Sierra, where are you?"

Sierra apparently covers the comlink with her hand. _"Should I tell her we're coming over?"_

 _"Has she told you the address?"_ Another voice which sounds like an elderly woman asks.

Ahsoka's eyes nearly stick out of her head. "Are they on Coruscant?"

The longer I stay on the line, the more it sounds like it. "Sierra, I live at 500 Republica, the penthouse. Get over here and explain why you're on the planet!"

….

Captain Panaka buzzes in on the comlink. _"Senator, there are three women here to see-."_

"Send them up!"

About a minute later Sierra and two other women, a teenager and an elderly woman, walk down the hall.

I put on my best Mina BonScary imitation and stalk across the room. "What are you doing here?"

The words gush out of Sierra's mouth. "Okay, so Steela and Saw are in big trouble back home, and we need Ahsoka's help, so Hero and I got tickets to come over here and get her but to get to my money I needed a guardian to sign off it and there's no way Tandin's gonna do it so I had to get Nana -."

I grab her shoulders. "Tandin doesn't know where you are?"

"Yes," the young woman says. "We explained the logistics of this to her, but she says she let him know."

"I wrote him a note." Sierra defends herself.

The elderly woman cackles with laughter. "Oh, I wish I could see the look of Gregory's face when he finds that. Child, you're going to be running drills until you're forty!"

Sierra makes a face, and the other woman, Hero, butts in.

"Senator, Ahsoka, I know this a surprise." She says. "But we need your help."

"How so?" Ahsoka asks.

"You're going to think I'm crazy."

…

When Hero finishes with the story, Ahsoka's mouth is open.

"You're telling me someone came in and hypnotized Steela?" she demands. "And now he's making her _marry_ him?"

Hero nods. "In order to inherit House Gerrera's assets, he needs to get rid of Saw. That way Steela becomes the heir."

"And they just left on a hunting trip to the jungle." Sierra interrupts. "Any number of things can go wrong in there."

The elderly woman, who I've discovered is Tandin's mother, speaks up. "I knew there was something fishy about a young man. As a mother of three boys, I'll tell you that I taught all three of them basic manners. A man who leaves his girlfriend's friends out in the rain is no man at all." she announces. "To be avoided at all costs."

"And he hangs out with creeps." Hero points out. "I'm a waitress, and Bastian's friend Griff, the one on the hunting trip with Saw and Hutch, makes perverted jokes about my coworkers. It's only gotten worse since I told him to knock it off, and now he's in the lawless, beast-filled jungle with my boyfriend."

All right, I can see that being stressful. I was worried sick when Anakin had to be in close quarters with Rush Clovis for fear of what those two would do to each other.

Hero picks up her comlink and checks it once again. "He's still not answering!"

Mrs. Tandin rubs her shoulders. "It's all right, sweetie. They're smart boys."

"Ahsoka, please." Sierra begs. "We need your help if we're going to save them. You're the only one who can convince Tandin or King Dendup or anybody to help us and we need a Jedi. Please, for the Gerreras. They're your friends."

Her voice drops and she visibly shrinks. "Lux…Lux said they were his friends. He wouldn't want this to happen to them."

Silence fills the room.

This is the first time Lux Bonteri's name has been spoken around Ahsoka.

Ahsoka wipes her eyes.

"Okay," she says, sounding like a Jedi for the first time since she left for the mission to Onderon. "Book us seats on a transport. We're going to Onderon."

 **TANDIN**

My ward is not home.

She is not at school.

She is not at the Gerreras' house. The neighbors are on a hunting trip so it stands to reason she's not there. I can't imagine she's in the jungle running drills. The library says there are no twelve-year-olds matching her description in the building. So does the bakery we like to go to.

And no matter how many times I call her, Sierra is not answering her comlink.

I'm almost ready to call my men and send out an all-points bulletin for a twelve-year-old brunette girl with brown eyes wearing a white shirt, to be turned over to me if spotted when I remember something: my mother.

Mother lives close by, Sierra could easily have walked over to her house to see her. She may not have warmed up to me yet, but she adores her Nana.

 _Yes, that's probably all it is,_ I think as I dial my mother's number. _Sierra probably went over to see her and forgot to leave a note. It's an honest mistake, twelve-year-olds make them all the time._

Mother's phone reaches the answering machine. I hang up.

I'm about to send out the APB when I see the note, folded on the kitchen counter. _Thank goodness._

After reading two lines, I realize I'm going to be in for a ride. Because the first line of Sierra's note says:

 _Dear Tandin,_

 _Please don't kill me._

….

"Well John," Tandin says to nothing once he's done reading the letter, "Looks like your daughter followed the family tradition."

Taking a seat on the couch, he lets his body relax while his mind struggles to process the information scrawled across the flimsi in Sierra's handwriting.

"John, I just don't know what to do," he says. "Feeding her and giving her a place to stay is the easy part. I thought that was all it would entail. But, then this happens."

He closes his eyes. "How does anyone do this? I'm having problems with one child, and you juggled two?

"Those two children in particular, to boot." He grumbled to himself. "It seems like trouble is attracted to them like moths to a flame."

Tandin sits up straighter, as if waiting for an answer. Of course, none comes.

He takes a deep breath.

"I wish my mother were here." He says finally. "Without her, I have no idea how I would manage this whole 'parenting' adventure.

"Because if it's anything," he mutters. "It's an adventure."

 **A/N: I'd say Sierra's goose is thoroughly cooked when Tandin sees her next. As is Ahsoka's when Anakin finds her.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics and Johnt12345 for your reviews. And speaking of reviews, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	11. Griff and Ean Go Hunting

**CHAPTER TEN – GRIFF AND EAN GO HUNTING**

 **HUTCH**

Unpopular opinion of the day: I don't like the Onderonian jungle.

Not counting various school field trips and today, I have dragged my city-slicker self into the jungle exactly twice. Once to join the rebellion and once to go hunting with Saw. And I only went hunting because Saw bugged me for the better part of a week.

This time, I'm only going so he has someone to talk to besides Griff and Ean. He's going to need it.

As Saw and I set up our tents in a clearing Griff has designated as his family's secret hunting spot, I ask him "Did you see any tee-muss on the way in?"

The sooner we get a tee-muss, the sooner we can get out of here and I can get back to my happy place, with my computer.

Saw shakes his head. "Only a few females, scrawny ones at that. I'd rather not take a tee-muss at all than take a female."

While taking female tee-muss is not necessarily illegal, it's frowned upon. After all, the females are the ones who have calves, and while one male can have many offspring every year, females can only have one each season.

"Okay," I agree, driving a stake into the ground. "When do you think we'll be heading out?"

"Weren't you listening to Griff on the way here?" he asks, setting up the tent poles. "We're spending the night and then going out first thing tomorrow morning."

From the other side of the camp, I hear "For force's sake, Ean!"

About ten feet away, Griff and Ean are setting up their own tent. Or rather, Griff is. Ean isn't putting the stakes in deep enough, and one of them has just pulled loose to _snap_ the tent up in Griff's face.

"I'm sorry," Ean apologizes, pulling the tent down and ramming the stakes in deeper.

Griff rubs his jaw, swearing. "You should be."

I look over at Griff and Ean's half-assembled tent, then at Saw's and mine. "I think I'm going to start dinner."

"We're eating ration bars, remember?"

My bad mood increases tenfold.

Before, I had an actual reason to be in the jungle: I was fighting for Onderon's freedom. Now, I'm in the hot, sweaty, bug-infested jungle eating nothing but ration bars for no good reason.

I pull my comlink out of my pocket. Maybe I can call Hero to make some of this go away.

In the corner, the screen announces that I have no service.

My spirits plummet. I may be a brilliant hacker, but I can't hack "no service." Not unless I build a comlink tower right here in the jungle.

I close my eyes and repeat what's probably going to become my mantra: _three more days._

 _Just three more days._

 **THIRD PERSON**

After sun falls on the Onderonian jungle and the hunting party has retired to their tents, Griff kicks his little brother as he lies in his sleeping bag.

"Wake up."

Ean sits up. "I'm still up, Griff. What do you want?"

Griff snorts. "Did you forget we're not actually here to hunt tee-muss?"

Ean glares indignantly at his brother. "Of course I didn't."

"Then were you dreaming about the girl?"

Griff feels a touch of satisfaction as his brother's face flushes with embarrassment. "No!"

"Of course you weren't." he teases. "You're never dreaming about her. All those times you wouldn't stop going on about her being in your study group were nothing. You don't have a chance anyway, it's not like she would ever marry you -."

Ean lurches forward. "Shut up!"

Griff pushes his younger brother back down.

"Just remember that, Ean. Bastian is your only chance to get that girl to notice you. Keep that in mind, and don't waste it."

Griff pulls a vial from his pocket. "This is rohypnol. Do you know what that is?"

"The date rape drug?"

Griff nods. "One of them; on the street they call them roofies. Give someone enough of this and they'll be out like a light."

"What are we going to do with it?" Ean asks.

Griff hands him the vial. "You're going to put it in Saw's drinking flask before we go out."

"What?"

"You're going to dose Saw." Griff says crossly. "One tablet should do the trick. Do it before we go on our trip. I'll handle it from there. If we get him situated up in a tree and he nods off, then he's good as done."

"How?" Ean asks, not comprehending.

His brother rolls his eyes. "Don't you remember what happened to your girlfriend's brother? You were at his funeral; all of Iziz was."

Ean's eyes widen. "Griff, that's horrible! Sierra's not recovered from what happened. What about Steela? What if she doesn't want to go through with the wedding?"

"Steela will be fine." Griff says lackadaisically. "She's Bastian's problem at any rate, and he says he'll make it look good. A little crying, a declaration that Saw wanted her to go through with the wedding at all costs, that sort of thing."

Ean swallows hard.

"I don't like this, Griff."

"If you want that girl, you're going to do it!" Griff snaps, shoving the vial into Ean's hands and remembering his part of the deal.

 _"It's easy, Griff." Bastian had said, handing him the vial of drugs. "I just need you to put this in Saw Gerrera's drink at a rather…inopportune time."_

 _"What can I see out of it?" Griff asked._

 _Bastian leaned forward. "Credits."_

 _He'd pretty much had him at that one word, but Griff was more than just dumb muscle._

 _"What else?"_

 _Bastian calmly looked past the two of them, to where a group of young women stood buying fruit from a merchant._

 _"Pick a girl. Any girl, and she'll be yours."_

Griff has briefly considered asking Bastian to make Hutch's girlfriend his, but the idea fizzled out. The waitress may be fun to tease, but she's not nearly pretty enough to settle down with. Soon, the right young woman with the right looks will come by, and he won't hesitate bringing Bastian to her.

But nothing will happen unless he and his brother can get this done.

"Do it," he hisses into his brother's ear. "And do it well."

 **HUTCH**

Ean wipes his brow. "Wow, it sure is hot today."

I nod. "You said it."

Saw scoffs. "You two are sissies. It's barely warm out."

"You aren't even drinking any water." Ean points out. "I've been guzzling it all day, I'm so thirsty."

What is it with Ean and water today? This morning he was going on and on about how dehydrated he was. You'd have thought the kid was turning into a raisin.

I shake my head. Thinking about the conversation only distracts me from my other reason for being here: to watch Bastian's friends and figure out the next awful thing planned for Steela.

Even if Hero and Sierra's hypnosis theory is farfetched, something's going on here. There's no way Steela Gerrera, who waited three months before even showing her feelings for Lux, would marry a guy she just met, especially after Lux died. Out of all of us, she took his death the hardest.

…

 _She didn't give voice to it except after the funeral, when Hero and I were bringing her and Saw back to their home. We were in the living room getting them settled in when Steela said, quietly, "It should have been me."_

 _"Sis, no," Saw said, his voice scaling._

 _Steela nodded, tears dripping down her face. "I was the one who fell first. It's me. I'm the one who should be dead, not him!"_

 _I was about to say something, but Saw beat me to it._

 _"I shot that gunship down," he sobbed._

 _Steela wrapped him in her arms and they sat the couch, one unit of shared grief and tears. And then I remembered Lux and I taking our meals together, laughing, and having a good time._

 _Hero and I stayed at the Gerreras' that night, crying and staring at the ceiling in shock._

…..

After something like that, Steela would wait months if not years before dating someone else, much less marry them after a month!

And something is up with the way she's been dressing. I've known Steela for a few years now, and I have never, not once in my life, seen her wear makeup until she met Bastian. And she wouldn't dream of dressing the way she is now.

Steela's seemed to develop an affinity for clothing in shades of red. And although I'm not looking on purpose, I'm also a man and Steela's choice of clothing is attention getting, to say the least. I'm surprised Saw has let her walk out the door wearing some of the things I've seen her in. Maybe she yanks on a sweater when she walks past him. Who knows, but the Steela I know would have shunned the same garments she now happily dons for Bastian.

Griff elbows Saw and I. "Saw, you see that tree branch up there?"

Saw shields his eyes against the sun. "Yeah."

"That's my father's old spot. Go climb up in it and you can see everything. Ean, you take the shrubbery over there. Hutch, the thicket. I'll take the hill."

Saw hoists himself into the first branches of the tree. "Got it. Thanks, Griff."

I trudge off toward the thicket and lie down on my stomach. I may as well get comfortable, because I'm going to be here for a while.

Without each other's voices, the jungle is eerily silent with only the sounds of the wind, insects, and small wildlife to keep my ears from ringing.

I never thought I would say this, but I miss the Reddy Mart.

 _All right Hutch, back to thinking. What does Bastian want with Steela?_

Bastian is already an advisor, and advisors are very well-paid, so I can eliminate wealth as a motive. Considering the way she's dressing as of late, he probably wants her around for, ahem, _certain things._

 _That's not good enough. If that's all Bastian wanted, then he could have influenced her into just spending a night with him. Why marriage?_

That's where it is. If there's a motive, it's going to be in the traditions and requisites of marriage.

When a couple gets married, it unites the two peple into one unit, with one last name, so they can be a family.

Steela was the leader of the rebellion. Maybe Bastian wants to unite with her so he can share in the glory and power that comes with that position?

I shake my head. If Bastian's anything like Hero says he is, then sharing isn't his forte. He doesn't want to share with Steela, he wants to _consume_ her, her title, her status, her house, and her legacy.

Just then, a little detail shines in my mind. If consumption is Bastian's goal, then there's a problem – as the youngest sibling, Steela doesn't have access to House Gerrera, and there's still one sibling left.

The truth hits me in the face like a cast iron skillet.

 _Steela's age, Ean going on and on about water…Hutch, you're an idiot!_

I grab my comlink but blast it, I still don't have any service.

Keeping my eyes on the brothers, I belly-crawl my way over to Saw's tree. I make sure they can't see me, then pull myself into the branches and climb.

"Saw!" I whisper, pulling on his wrist. "Saw, we gotta go right now!"

"Hutch, what are you doing?" Saw grumbles.

"I'll explain on the way, but we have to get out of here or we're both going to wind up dead." I hiss, pulling his down. "Just follow me. And whatever you do, don't drink any water!"

 **A/N: Hutch isn't just the Cashier from Hell; he can figure things out even without comlink reception. Now he and Saw only have to get out of the jungle without Griff and Ean finding them...or else.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics for your review. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	12. Hutch and Saw Get Hunted

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – SAW AND HUTCH GET HUNTED**

 **AHSOKA**

Sierra isn't the only one sneaking away from her guardian. Once the transport is safely out of Coruscant's orbit, I open the piece of flimsi Padme told me not to read until we were on our way to Onderon.

 _Dear Ahsoka._

 _I'm not going to tell Anakin where you are. If he calls, do not answer._

 _-Padme_

I sigh. "I'm going to get it when I get back to the Temple."

Sierra glances down at her comlink and the notification saying she has ten missed calls from Tandin. "Well, so am I. I'm not looking forward to this. I'm not looking forward to this at all."

Mrs. Tandin smiles from the seat next to us. "I'll help to calm his down, but I have no guarantees on how well it'll work."

Sierra groans.

Hero, too, is on her comlink. She's obsessively dialing Hutch's number.

"He's not answering!" She cries. "Why is he not answering?"

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Hero, those two lackeys probably took Hutch and Saw somewhere there isn't comlink reception. Do you have any idea where they might have gone?"

Sierra shakes her head. "They were going to some old hunting spots of Griff's. Probably only Bastian knows where they are, are force knows he's not telling us."

"What about Steela?"

Hero shakes her head. "There's no way he'd leave a liability like that. He might have even wiped the information from her mind."

I mentally kick myself. I know a thing or two about mind manipulation. After all, Jedi mind tricks are essentially a form of force-induced hypnosis. Of _course_ Bastian wouldn't be dumb enough to let Steela give us valuable information. He essentially has her locked in a mental ivory tower.

"All right, so we land on Onderon." I plan. "Then we try to find where Hutch and Saw are, and go get them. Does anyone else know where they could be?"

"The Department of Game and Wildlife." Hero answers. "All hunting excursions have to be registered so the rangers know you're not poaching. Bastian wouldn't run the risk of them getting arrested; they probably registered."

"How do we get access to the trips?" Sierra asks.

 _"We_ can't. But Ahsoka, being a Jedi and all, probably can."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

Hero waves her hands in a dismissive gesture. "If you can't, then do that mind trick thing you Jedi can do. I don't care, just get us the coordinates."

"Meanwhile," Mrs. Tandin says, "I will go home and tell Gregory where all of you are. I'll do my best to get him on our side but nothing is certain."

"My goose is cooked either way," Sierra grumbles.

I'm about to refute that, but I really can't. General Tandin really isn't the type to let an unauthorized, last-minute trip to Coruscant slide.

"First priority is getting the boys to safety." I tell both of them, snapping into the attitude of a commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. "Then we can deal with Tandin and figure out how to get Steela out of the trance."

"Which will involve robbing Bastian." Sierra points out. "We need to find out what kind of bell he used so we can match the frequency. Otherwise, we won't be able to undo the trance. But it shouldn't be that much of a problem now that we have you, Ahsoka."

I nod. "Getting the bell will be the easy part. The hard part is going to be getting ahold of Steela."

 **SAW**

"Hutch, what are you doing? Slow down!"

Hutch has dragged me through the jungle and back toward camp at a breakneck pace without bothering to explain what's going on. When we got to the bottom of the tree he grabbed my canteen, stuck it around his own neck, and we were off like shots.

"There's no time," he pants. "We need to search the Goulds' tent for evidence."

"Evidence? Evidence of what?"

"Evidence that they're trying to kill you!"

That stops me in my tracks.

 _"What?"_

Hutch unzips the flaps on the Goulds' tent and crawls inside. "Check everywhere. We're looking for some kind of poison."

My jaw is hanging open. "Kill me? Why would Griff want to kill me?"

Hutch doesn't stop his search. "Saw, think about that for a few minutes. Griff is Bastian's best friend."

"Bastian is going to marry my sister. Why would he want me dead?"

A piece of Griff's or Ean's clothing goes flying past my head. "Saw, think for a minute. How rich would Steela get if something happened to you?"

I pause. Steela's and my family didn't have a whole lot when we were growing up, but after the rebellion…

Well, let's just say House Gerrera has expanded. Exponentially.

Hutch keeps talking. "And if Bastian marries your sister when she becomes the heir, then he has access to everything she does."

This entire scheme is starting to make perfect sense, except for one thing. "Steela would never agree to that!"

"Because she doesn't know." Hutch agrees. "Saw, he's manipulating her. And I don't mean lying and whatnot, I mean he's literally controlling her mind."

 _"Mind control?"_

What is Hutch proposing? Steela isn't acting like a mindless zombie since she met Bastian. She's just been in love, that's all. Sometimes, when a person is in love they try to look nice for their significant other, like how Steela puts on makeup for him. And they want to be alone when they're on dates. She might have been a little extreme sending Sierra home in the storm, but…

And then I remember the headaches. The fainting. The amnesia.

"Look, I'll explain on the way out. We have to find the poison now before Griff and Ean get back here!"

But right now I could care less about the poison. All that matters is Steela. "Are you telling me that Bastian has been controlling Steela like a _puppet?_ That he wants to make her his _slave?"_

Hutch nods. "It's a little more complicated, but that's the basic gist of it."

The anger flares inside me. "That sleemo! I knew he was bad news, I just knew it. Hutch, we have to go. We have to help Steela!"

"Help me find the evidence and we'll be able to help Steela more!"

I shove my way into the tent and tear apart Griff's and Ean's tent. Bedroll, clothes, ammunition, first aid kit…

First aid kit. I rip open the pack and start thumbing through the medications. Aspirin, allergy pills, cold medication, and something I don't recognize. I read the label.

"Hutch, do you know what rohypnol is?"

Hutch's eyes widen. "Saw, that's the date-rape drug. That's probably what's in your canteen now."

I know better than to dump the water. If it is indeed spiked, then it's valuable evidence against Bastian.

"We've got to get back to Iziz. The speeder's parked not far from -."

Hutch grabs my shoulders. "We can't take the speeder. We have to make Griff and Ean think we ran off into the jungle and got lost so they'll leave us alone."

"Then how are we supposed to get out of here? It'll take us weeks to hike back and by then, Steela will already be married." I rub a hand against my forehead. "God only knows what he'll do once he has her in his pocket."

"Saw, chill." Hutch says sharply. "If we get somewhere that has comlink reception, I can call someone to pick us up. Once we tell Tandin what's going on and show him the evidence he'll help us. He likes Steela too and Sierra and Hero will back us up. They might not have much influence, but at least they're backup."

I shove the drugs in my pocket and book it for the open jungle. "Come on. We've got to get closer to our old outpost."

…..

I can only imagine what Griff and Ean are doing once they realized we're gone, and none of it's good.

"Do you see anyone on our tails?"

Hutch shakes his head, holding his comlink up like an antenna. "The reception's coming on slowly. I just don't have enough to make a - stop!"

I stop in my tracks. Hutch runs over to the nearest tree and climbs as high as he can. I follow him up.

"What are you doing?"

"Reception is better up high," he says. "And – oh man, look at this."

I look down at Hutch's comlink. The screen proclaims YOU HAVE 57 MISSED CALLS FROM HERO.

"Well, looks like the girls knew what was going on."

Hutch punches in Hero's number. "Saw, call Tandin. I'm going to give Hero the coordinates."

 **SIERRA**

Shortly after touching down on Onderon, Hero's comlink rings. I don't have to look to know who's calling.

Hero answers it with "Hutch, Griff is trying to kill you!"

 _"I figured that out already."_

Hero white-knuckles the comlink, remotely activating the locator beacon in Hutch's phone with harsh, desperate taps on the screen. "Get out of the campsite. We're coming over to get you right now."

Hutch's voice is calming. _"Don't worry, babe. We already left, and Saw's on the phone with Tandin right now. The militia should be out here any minute to come get us. Hang on for just a second."_ He pauses, then gets back on the line. _"Is Sierra with you?"_

Hero glances over at me. "Yes."

 _"Tell her that Tandin says he needs to speak with her when he sees her next."_

I can't imagine Tandin wants to tell me what a joy I am right now.

"I will," Hero says. "Tell Tandin we'll meet him back at my house. Make sure you and Saw are there."

 _"Who's 'we'?"_

"Me, Sierra, Mrs. Tandin, and Ahsoka."

 _"Ahsoka?"_

"That's what you missed." Hero says dryly. "We just got off the transport from Coruscant. You guys don't have to tell that to Tandin; he already knows."

…

"Young lady, what did you think you were doing?"

I raise my hands in front of me. "Tandin, I can explain."

Tandin stands absolutely still in Hero's living room, but his face is bright red and twitching with anger.

"I swear!" I squeak. "It was an emergency. If I had any time I would have asked you, but I didn't."  
Tandin crosses his arms. "Sierra, it's a very good thing I have more important things to worry about at the moment. Don't think this conversation is over."

So that means Nana talked him down. I send a silent prayer of thanks that Nana has so much clout with my guardian.

Ahsoka claps her hands to call order. "All right, everyone. We need to divide and conquer if we're going to get Steela out of this."

"Tell us what to do," Saw says.

"Sierra, find the bell." Ahsoka orders. "Saw and Hero, get Steela and bring her back here. Hutch, grab a computer and find something we can use to get Bastian arrested. Tandin, get the militia organized and get an arrest warrant for Griff and Ean. Hurry!"

...

I slide into the Royal Palace using Tandin's access code and run for Bastian's office.

The halls are eerily deserted, but that's to be expected if the advisors are in a meeting, right?

One of the housekeepers notices me. "Sweetie, what are you doing here?"

"I'm just dropping off some documents for Advisor Gerrera," I lie.

The housekeeper shakes her head. "You must have the date wrong, kid. Steela's not here. It's her wedding day."

 **A/N: Wait, the wedding is supposed to be two weeks from now? Unless, of course, you're Bastian and you want to make sure you get married.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics and Johnt12345 for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	13. Bastian Uses Classic Tactics

**CHAPTER TWELVE – BASTIAN USES CLASSIC TACTICS**

When Saw hears the news, he almost spits. _"They're getting married today? The wedding isn't supposed to be for a week and a half!"_

"He's stepping up his plan,"Ahsoka says back at Hero's apartment. "Saw, where's the wedding venue?"

" _The Unifar Temple."_

"Hutch, stay here and find something incriminating. Everyone else, get to the venue as fast as you can!"

…

Sierra ducks into the back entrance of the Unifar temple along with some maintenance workers and races for the groom's quarters. A good hypnotist never keeps his tokens far away. The bell has to be somewhere in here.

Watching her back, she steps in and shuts the door behind her. Bastian's bell should be small, something that makes a light _ding._

Over in the corner lies a bag with Bastian's street clothes. She unzips the top and starts to rifle through the clothing.

 _Come on, where is it?_ She grumbles internally, her fingers feeling for the hard metal of a bell.

Suddenly, the door opens behind her.

"Well, Sierra," Bastian says. "We're in a bit of trouble."

 **SIERRA**

"Well, Sierra," Bastian says, "We're in a bit of trouble. I can't just let you go, and I'm fresh out of knockout drops."

My stomach ties in knots. This is not good. He's not even denying his plans. He's just trying to figure out a way to drug me!

 _Say something, Sierra!_ "What are you talking about?"

Bastian takes a step closer.

"Listen. I know that you've been going around slandering my name to your friends." He says, "And I know you plan to ruin my wedding day."

"This isn't a wedding! You're forcing Steela to marry you."

"I'm not _forcing_ her," Bastian lies. "Steela is in a state of mind where she's very receptive to suggestions. It's quite peaceful, actually."

"I know what it feels like. She didn't make these choices, you made them for her!"

Bastian ignores me.

"That's enough," he snaps. "Like I said, I can't just leave you here and I don't have the pills. But what I do have two armed men with their sights on your friend Hero. Luckily, there's a way we can make this work for the both of us."

"How?"

"Marry Ean."

Out of everything he could have said, this is what catches me off-guard. I'm twelve years old. Marriage is about number 1000 on my priority list. Maybe lower.

"Ean wants to marry me?" I ask incredulously.

Bastian snorts. "He's a lovesick puppy. All he wants is a pretty wife to make him feel like a man. Give him that, you can make him do anything."

"What do you mean, anything?"

He shrugs. "I promised Ean that if he helped me take care of Saw in the jungle, I would give him a bride."

Suddenly, all of Ean's strange behavior makes sense. He wasn't trying to make friends. He was courting a girl he wanted to be his wife. _I'm an idiot._

"Your being the heir to House Bonteri is just a plus. We wouldn't hold the wedding until you both were of age, of course." Bastian continues.

I swallow hard. The hesitation isn't lost on Bastian.

"You can say no, of course. Griff would be more than happy to cut Hero's throat."

"Okay," I whisper, knowing Griff would. "Okay. Sure. I'll do it."

I am speaking in monosyllables.

Bastian nods, and draws something small and shiny from his pocket.

"This isn't part of the deal!"

"You think I'm going to take your word for it?"

I try to take another step back, but the cold plaster of the wall stops me in my tracks. Bastian closes the distance, pressing me hard against the wall with one hand.

The other brings the pendant in front of my face.

It starts to move.

 _"Hey Sierra, wanna see something cool?" My eight-year-old brother asked, running in from the backyard._

 _"What?"_

 _"It's a secret! Watch the necklace!" Lux told me._

 _"Okay," I said, five years old and gullible._

"Watch," Bastian orders, with a voice that's more like a cross teacher than an adversary, filling my mind with his wish.

I'm watching the pendant. Why wouldn't I be watching the pendant?

 _The square root tables, Sierra! Say the square root tables!_

If I believed in ghosts, I would say Lux just screamed the command into my mind.

 _One squared is one. Two squared is four. Three squared is nine._

Bastian's command dissolves from my mind.

In that moment, I know what I have to do: pretend to be hypnotized. That's the only way Steela and I stand a chance of getting out of this nightmare unscathed.

 _Four squared is sixteen. Five squared is twenty-five._

I lean against the wall, bowing into Bastian's grip. My eyes are following the pendant but my mind plugs away at calculations.

 _Six squared is thirty-six. Seven squared is forty-nine._

How did Steela look when she was in a trance? Her eyes aren't completely glazed over, but she isn't all there.

 _Eight squared is sixty-four._

The glittering pendant swings in front of my eyes.

 _Nine squared is eighty-one._

And stops.

Bastian puts the pendant back in his pocket and takes my hand.

"Good," he says.

….

He holds my arm when we walk. He's afraid I'll trip and the trance will break.

It's my job to make sure he doesn't figure out there's no trance at all.

Bastian raps on a door with the back of his hand. "Ean," he calls into one of the rooms. "Open up."

There's a rustling sound, and then Ean opens the door. "Bastian, what do you…" He trails off.

"Sierra?"

I give him my best Hypnotized Girlfriend smile. "Hi, Ean."

Ean glances over to Bastian. "Are you serious? Is she..?"

"You held up your end of the bargain. She's yours." Bastian declares.

Ean sputters something.

"Be gentle," Bastian orders. "You can't jostle her around or startle her until I can get her into a better trance."

"Of course! I would never hurt her."

Bastian rolls his eyes. "Right. You're in _love_. I'm serious, Ean. No sudden noises and I don't care if she's only walking a few steps, you hold her hand." Ean nods. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding to attend," Bastian says. He places my hand in Ean's.

"Enjoy," he says with a sickening smile as he walks down the hall.

Ean stares at me, mouth agape. It takes the sound of a door shutting behind Bastian to snap him out of it.

"H-hi," he stammers, pulling me into the room. "Do you want something to, uh, drink?" he asks, settling me into a chair.

I smile ever-wider. "Thank you, Ean."

 _All right, how am I going to get out of here if Ean won't let me go two feet without literally holding my hand?_

But before I can scratch out a plan, Ean sits in the chair across from me, blocking my path to the door.

 **HUTCH**

I stare at my computer screen, the puzzle pieces assembling in my mind.

Then I grab my comlink.

"Guys, I think I figured out what Bastian really wants with Steela."

…

 _"We already know what he wants."_ Saw cries.

 _"_ There's more to it."I tell them. "Everyone, listen to me. King Dendup is old. He never married, never had a child to pass the throne to. So when he dies, who's going to become king?"

Everyone's silent. Apparently, they hadn't thought of this.

"According to Dendup's wishes, the throne was supposed to go to Lux. After he died, the document was amended. Now Saw and Steela are supposed to co-rule Onderon, under Tandin's supervision until you're both of age. Now think about this here for a second: if Saw would have died on the trip -."

 _"Then Steela becomes the Queen of Onderon_." Saw says in amazement. _"And if she's married, her husband becomes the King!"_

I nod. "That's how this document is set up. If Bastian marries Steela, all he has to do is wait for Dendup to die before he inherits absolute power.

"And there's more," I say. "I wasn't looking around in the King's wishes at first. I started out looking at Bastian's financials to see if he's been messing with Steela's accounts. And when I couldn't find anything on his, I went back and looked at his mom's."

I bring up the records. "Look, I don't think it's possible for a woman working part-time as a palace servant to do some of the stuff she did. Bastian went to private schools, an expensive university, and they never seemed to struggle with money. So I looked deeper, and she was receiving two payments of fifty thousand credits each year. One on New Year's Day, and one on August seventh. Guess what that is?"

Ahsoka is catching on. _"Bastian's birthday?"_

"Bulls-eye, Ahsoka. I pulled his birth certificate to check and that just backed up my theory. The space for the father's name on the birth certificate is blank. His mother claimed she didn't know who the father was."

 _"He's an illegitimate child?"_ Hero asks.

"More than an illegitimate child." I swallow hard. "I figured those payments were hush money from Bastian's dad to his mom. Since they were direct transfers, I traced the account."

 _"Hutch, tell us whose it is."_ Saw demands.

I take a deep breath.

"The account delivering the hush money was held by Sanjay Rash."

Silence on the line. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to think about what that means.

So I tell them.

"Guys…King Rash is Bastian's father."

 **A/N: Surprised, anyone? I was considering hosting a spit-take challenge, but considering this website doesn't support video, that wouldn't exactly work.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics and Johnt12345 for our reviews. And speaking of which, please review! It could work to be the text equivalent of the spit-take.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	14. The Sins of the Fathers

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN – THE SINS OF THE FATHERS**

King Rash.

The ruler who sold Onderon to the Separatists for his own personal gain.

Everyone, from nobles in the palace to beggars on the street, remembers him with disgust. They remember the planet's economy destroyed by the closure of trade routes to the Republic. They remember the droids who came, abusing the people and watching their every move.

When the rebels stormed the throne room of the palace and found King Rash's body (the one favor the Separatists did Onderon) they assumed that was the end of it.

They had never counted on him having a relative, and that relative being just ambitious enough and just intelligent enough to clear a way straight to the throne.

Steela isn't just Bastian's way to fulfilling his father's legacy; she's also the perfect camouflage. After all, the leader of the rebellion would never support a tyrant's son, much less marry him!

The thought churns in the rebels' stomachs until Saw speaks up.

"Do you mean to tell me," he says, "That my sister is about to marry the _son of King Rash?"_

 _"Yeah, that's what I'm saying."_ Hutch says.

Saw rolls up his sleeves. "Holy gods of Unifras, _find her!"_

When that comes out of Saw's mouth, it breaks the shock the others have been submerged in. Saw is not one to call upon the gods unless he or someone he loves is in extreme danger.

Suddenly, Ahsoka realizes something. "Guys, is Sierra on this comm?"

Hutch looks down at the people he dialed. "I commed her, but she didn't answer."

A cold feeling fills Hero's chest. "That doesn't sound good at all."

"We don't have time to worry about Sierra." Saw cries. "We have to get Steela before she says her vows!"

Hero gives him a look. "And if we don't have Sierra when we do that, we can't break the trance. She's the hypnotist, not me."

Ahsoka races to come up with a plan. _"Saw and Hero, find Steela and bring her somewhere safe. I'll alert the militia that Sierra's missing."_

"Why the militia?"

 _"If you can think of anyone more effective than Tandin, I'm all ears."_

 _Well,_ Hero thinks, _she has a point there._

…

Bastian Rash walks into the bride's room and watches as a droid places the veil on Steela's head.

Swathed in the soft fabric of the dress he picked out, Steela doesn't look powerful. If anything she looks small and fragile, just the way he wanted.

Bastian taps her on the shoulder and she turns around, a smile on her face. "Bastian!"

"Are you ready?"

Steela nods. "Just a little nervous, that's all."

"Here," He steps behind her, takes the pendant from his pocket, and clasps it around her neck. "Does that help?"

Steela picks up the pendant. "It's beautiful."

"Consider it an early wedding present," Bastian says, and kisses her on the cheek. "Come along, it's almost time for you to walk down the aisle."

 **SIERRA**

Ean is walking on air, my hand clutched in his.

"Is this a good place to sit?" he asks.

I force a smile. "Sure!"

Ean leads us into the pew of the Unifar Temple and sits right next to the aisle, me on his left.

"Steela's going to come right down here in her wedding dress," he states the obvious.

I feel sick, but I nod. Ean is going to make me sit here and watch my brother's friend be married against her will, and I can't do anything about it. No hypnotized person would object to the marriage and if I don't go through with this, then Hero's dead.

Bastian stands at the altar with the holy man, a confident smile on his face. _Blast him, the mastermind of this whole conspiracy. If I had weapons of mass destruction right now, I'd use them right where he stands. He went after Steela and now he's going after me, and nobody would be the wiser._

If I really was hypnotized, I don't think Tandin would notice. He would write it off as teenage puppy love and let it be until I too was a brainwashed bride. Arranged marriages are commonplace for children of noble families, but Mom and Dad never dreamed of one for their children. They married for love and so would we.

And now that's stripped from Steela along with her name and her house.

The wedding march starts, and I avert my eyes.

Bastian might be able to make me be here, but he can't make me watch.

…

Bastian stands at the front of the altar, holding Steela's hands.

"We are gathered here today to unite this man and this woman in holy matrimony," the holy man announces. "It is my honor to serve as the officiant for the marriage between two of Onderon's most trusted advisors. It appears this love story started merely a month ago, over a proposal for an improved fire code…"

I tune out the speech, glancing around for any of Bastian's armed men. If I can figure out where Hero is, maybe I can postpone the wedding or something.

I look in the pews. No Hero. I glance over my shoulder. No Hero.

"What are you doing?" Ean whispers in my ear.

"Nothing. My neck hurts." I lie.

"Here," Ean awkwardly wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. _Well isn't that just perfect._

The holy man drones on. "And in Steela's darkest hour, the death of her brother Saw, Bastian stood by her." He says.

Steela sniffs. Bastian looks down at his feet as if in mourning, the nerve of him.

And then he looks behind him for a second, to where Griff stands as his best man.

Hang on, if Griff is standing at the front of them Temple and Ean's with me, then who's the one supposedly ready to slit Hero's throat if Bastian gives the command? I don't know of any other friends or lackeys of Bastian's.

The truth hits me: there isn't one. It's just an empty threat to keep me under control until he could cast me under his spell.

 _Think, Sierra, think! If you can get rid of Ean, then you can run up to the front of the temple, grab Steela, and run for it. Granted, she's going to fight you off but it'll at least buy her some time!_

The plan forms as the holy man opens a book.

"Do you, Bastian, take Steela to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Very well. Do you, Steela, take Bastian to be your lawfully wedded husband…"

I ball my hand into a fist and knot the other around Ean's shirt, ready to pull him directly into the line of fire.

Suddenly, the temple door slams open and the air is shattered by a primal roar.

 _"NOT MY SISTER, YOU SLEEMO!"_

The holy man stops reading.

He charges down the end of the aisle. Dressed in grubby hunting clothes, drenched in sweat, and face screwed in hatred.

Saw Gerrera.

Steela turns. "Saw?"

Bastian grabs her chin and turns her to face him. "Let's get on with this, shall we?"

I tap Ean on the shoulder. "Hey, Ean?"

Ean looks over at me. "Yes?"

I yank him toward me and knee him in the groin. Hard.

"AUGH!"

Ean drops like a rock. I don't waste further time with him, instead choosing to jump over his prone body and join Saw racing down the aisle.

"Steela, don't do it!" Saw yells.

But it's like Steela can't hear him. With the holy man too shocked to speak, Bastian calmly states the vows. "To have and to hold, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer…"

There's no way Saw and I are going to get to the front of the temple and break the trance. There's just no way.

I look over my shoulder to the back of the temple.

"Hero!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Hero, if you can hear me, we need a bell!"

 **AHSOKA**

"A bell?" I cry. "Where are we supposed to get a bell? Doesn't she have it?"

"Apparently not!" Hero says, looking madly around the space.

"Where are we going to get one?"

Hero's eyes lock onto something. "I'm gonna do it."

"Do what?"

"Something I fantasize about doing at work on those days the restaurant was busy and everyone was rude and stingy with tips."

She runs a few feet down the hallway and pulls the emergency fire alarm.

The sprinklers activate while the fire bell screams to life, a shrill _brrring_ ringing through the Unifar Temple. I cover my montrals.

My first thought is _wow, Hero. You really are a waitress from Hell._

"Did it work?" Hero yells over the din.

I look down into the main room. Most of the guests are shielding themselves with their hands or their jackets. Saw and Sierra race down the aisle toward the altar. Bastian yells something to his lackeys.

And Steela…

Steela has her eyes closed tight, as if she has a migraine. She's let go of Bastian's hands in favor of pressing them to her head.

But then her eyes snap open and she wheels on Bastian, her face an inch from his.

"Fire code, huh?" she growls.

"Yeah, it worked." I tell Hero and bolt down the aisle.

Bastian blinks. "Steela? Are you all right?"

But Steela is not listening to him. "Fire code my foot, you son of a Daglo!" she yells. Without a second thought, she grabs her flower bouquet from where she set it down and swings it upside Bastian's head.

"You thought this would be easy, huh?" she yells. She's about to take a swing at Bastian with her bare fist, but Saw beats her to it.

Saw makes a flying leap and tackles Bastian down to the ground, pinning him beneath his knees and pummeling him.

I reach the altar. "Steela!"

"Ahsoka?" She trots down the steps. "Ahsoka, what are you doing here?"

I wrap her in a hug. "Hero and Sierra told me you were in trouble. I came to help."

She hugs me back, tight. "I'm so glad you did."

I look over her shoulder. "Hutch, Hero, go stop Saw."

Hutch and Hero have barely had time to obey when militiamen flood the temple, led by General Tandin.

"Bastian Rash!" he shouts, bringing on a chorus of whispering from the guests. "You are under arrest for conspiracy, attempted murder, and sedition!"

Two militiamen yank a still-yelling Saw off Bastian. He spits and swears as he goes down.

Steela blinks. "Rash?" she repeats. "As in, King Rash?"

I nod. Steela takes a shuddering breath.

"Get me out of here," she whispers. "Now."

 **A/N: And the trance is broken! Welcome back, Steela.**

 **The next chapter will be the final one. However, per the request of 082 Martian Scout, there will be two endings to the story: Alternate and True.**

 **The Alternate ending will be posted first, and will take over narration at Sierra's line "Hero, we need a bell!"**

 **The True ending, posted second, will pick up where this chapter left off. At the top of each ending, I will reiterate which ending it is.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics and Johnt12345 for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	15. Alternate Ending

**ALTERNATE ENDING**

 **Author's note: This is the alternate ending to "Black Sheep". This ending picks up in Chapter 13, directly after Sierra stops narrating. Thus, it takes the place of the section narrated by Ahsoka.  
**

" _Hero!" Sierra yells, racing to the front of the Unifar Temple with Saw. "Hero, we need a bell!"_

…

"Bell? Where are we going to find a bell?" Hero cries.

"I don't know!" Ahsoka glances down the aisle. "I'm going to stop Steela. Find one!" she shouts and runs into the temple.

Hero looks around the room. _There has to be a bell around here somewhere,_ she thinks. _I don't know how to ring the church bell, but it probably wouldn't work anyway. Where can it be, where - the fire alarm!_

She spots the red box which houses the alarm on the wall and races toward it. _Fire code, huh? I'll show you fire code, Bastian!_

Hero has almost made it to the box when she sees the shadow tower over her, and the butt of a pistol swings into the back of her head.

Griffin Gould calmly places his pistol back in the holster as Hero falls, then grabs her around the waist, swings her over his shoulder, and takes her downstairs to the bride's room.

…

Steela looks adoringly into Bastian's eyes, and smiles.

"I do!"

The holy man ignores the chaos in the aisleway.

"By the power vested in me by the planet Onderon, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride."

 _"No!"_ Saw roars.

"This isn't a real wedding!" Sierra shrieks. "Bastian is hypnotizing Steela. He sent Saw to his death. He tried to hypnotize me!"

Bastian looks like he wants nothing more than to kiss Steela, but he releases one of her hands and addresses the crowd.

"It's all right," he says calmly. "I can explain. Saw and Sierra aren't in the best frame of mind at the moment. It's a miracle Saw is with us at all, all things considered after his hunting accident."

Steela blinks back tears. "I can't believe he was here to see me get married. After he fell out of that tree, I thought he was dead for sure."

"I didn't fall out of any trees!" Saw yells.

"Unfortunately," Bastian continues, "He doesn't recall the situation. And I'm sure all of you remember the tragedy involving Lux Bonteri five months ago."

"Don't say his name, you slime! And get your hands off my sister." Saw shouts.

Bastian ignores him. "This poor girl lost her parents, her brother, and this morning her guardian had a heart attack. I hope you all can understand her hysteria."

Sierra stops in her tracks.

 _Tandin…heart attack._

"What did you do to Tandin?" she screams, a horror she knows all too well rising inside her.

…

 _At the milita headquarters, Tandin frantically makes his way to his office to get a squad together. He is completely oblivious to the young man waiting around the corner with a spray bottle._

 _Griff sprays the drug into Tandin's face, and slips out of the office._

 _The next person to see Tandin is the secretary who finds him clutching his chest, and calls the medical droid._

…

"Ahsoka, go find Tandin and Hero. Please!" Sierra pleads.

Ahsoka is pretty sure she knows what's happened to Tandin, but she chooses to keep it bottled, instead running to check on Hero.

"I'm so sorry, Sierra." Steela says.

Sierra sees red. She'll deal with this entire wedding and hypnosis debacle later but right now, she has a bigger fish to fry.

"You killed my guardian!" she yells, launching herself at Bastian.

Factoring in considerable assistance from Saw, she might have managed to clobber him except for one factor: Steela. The young woman catches Sierra mid-pounce and traps her in an embrace.

"It's all right, sweetie." She says quietly. Sierra struggles, but Steela's physical strength is the one thing Bastian didn't manage to take from her.

Bastian smiles at the both of them.

"Steela and I understand that bringing a third person into our home so soon after marrying will be a challenge, but we're up to it." He says. "And we're honored to be Sierra's guardians."

Using Steela to hide him from the audience, Bastian pulls Sierra close and presses his lips against her ear.

"Griff is with Hero in the bride's room. Choose your next actions wisely."

…

Steela doesn't protest when militiamen drag her brother from the temple, kicking and shouting.

She barely bats an eyelash when they take Ahsoka too, shooting her with a stun blast from behind and carting her away to the Jedi Soul Healers.

In fact, the only time she reacts at all is when her new husband kisses her.

…

"I know which one I want." Griff says to Bastian at the reception.

Bastian raises an eyebrow. "Which one?"

Griff leans into his ear. "The Togruta. That's the girl I want."

"The Jedi?"

"That one."

Bastian nods.

"As you wish," he says. "I'll have Steela call her to Onderon when the time is right. Once she's here, she's yours."

…

"Steela, I need your signature."

Sierra watches as Bastian places the pen in Steela's hand to sign the engagement contract. One signature later, and she is officially promised to Ean Gould.

She feels sick. Mina and John Bonteri had always made it clear that this kind of contract had no place in their home. They wanted their children to marry for love, not for money or politics.

Yet here she is, betrothed to be married on her eighteenth birthday.

…

Seven months later, King Dendup succumbs to a mysterious form of cancer.

With Saw deemed unfit to rule, the crown falls easily to Bastian and Steela.

Bastian grins when the laurels touch his brow.

 _Finally,_ he thinks. _Finally, the day has come. I have what I deserve._

Steela smiles, a crown on her head, happy to serve Onderon but happier for the child she'll be having soon. The knowledge that Bastian's and her son will be born royal fills her to the brim with joy.

Bastian says all the time that the son of a king should be recognized.

She smiles, pressing her hand to her belly so the people of Onderon won't soon forget what's coming.

And the people do not.

They know their beloved rebel leader has become their Queen.

They know her husband, the advisor who stood by all the rebels in their darkest hour, has become King.

They know an heir will come along soon.

They know Saw is doing well in the institution Bastian selected for him to heal from his "brain injury".

They know Sierra Bonteri has been seeing Ean Gould. Rumor has it they're already engaged and simply waiting until they're of age to marry.

No, it simply can't get much better, the people of Onderon think.

One child in the audience is especially thrilled. So thrilled that he takes out the bell his parents let him bring, and rings it over and over so his King and Queen know that he wishes them well.

King Bastian doesn't notice, but Steela blinks hard and looks directly at the little boy.

The boy stares in awe. "Mommy! She's looking at me!"

"She heard your bell," his mother says. "Wave to her, sweetie. It's a way you can say hi even though she can't hear your voice."

The child waves, and Steela returns a polite wave. But the boy has one more question.

"Mommy, she looks scared."

"She's going to have a baby," his mother explains. "And when mommies are going to have babies, sometimes their feelings are mixed up."

"Oh. Okay," the boy says, and keeps waving at Steela.

…

But Steela's emotions are not compromised because of her pregnancy.

She is terrified because she's found herself standing on a stage, pregnant, the crown of Onderon on her head and Bastian at her side.

 _Play it cool,_ she tells herself. _Just play it cool until you get inside, and then find someone you know and ask them what the heck is going on._

…

"Did you remember to take your vitamins?" Bastian asks that night as they lay in bed, as far apart as Steela can manage.

Steela shakes her head. She doesn't remember much of anything, but she has managed to figure out that Bastian is the baby's father, and apparently her husband.

She has no idea why she would marry Bastian, let alone have a child, but somehow it happened.

 _Something is radically wrong here,_ she thinks. _I just have to play along until I figure out what it is._

"Take them." Bastian orders, handing her the capsules. "It's important for the heir to be born healthy. And remember you have a doctor's appointment tomorrow."

Steela dry-swallows the pills and turns over onto her side to face away from him, praying this is all a bad dream she'll wake up from.

Bastian pulls her close, resting his chin on her shoulder and wrapping a possessive arm around her, his hand on her swollen belly.

"When's the due date again?" she asks, resisting the urge to swat his hand away. "I forgot."

"Steela," he says fondly, rubbing her belly. "He'll be born in four months. My son. My heir."

Bastian plants a kiss behind her ear.

"We should name him Sanjay."

And then an emotion ignites within Steela that hasn't seen the light since she walked into Bastian's office to discuss the fire code.

Fury.

 _He's mine too, you creep._ She thinks, fingers clenching around the sheets. _And he's not going to be your heir. I'm not going to let you lay a finger on him, and I'm not going to name him after an evil tyrant!_

 _Four months, huh? I'll take that as four months I have to get out of here with my son._

 _And his name isn't Sanjay._

She presses her own hand to her belly, as if to shield the child from Bastian's touch.

 _His name is Lux._

…

Steela's reaction on the stage isn't lost on Sierra, who sees it from her position next to Ean.

That's why the instant she gets off the stage, she pulls Ean into the nearest empty room.

"Sierra?" Ean says, his voice squeaking at the end of her name. "What are you doing?"

Sierra reaches behind her neck and undoes the clasp to her necklace. It's not Bastian's pendant, but it's close enough.

 _Lux,_ she prays. _Please, I I've never done this before, and a lot of people's lives are hanging on it. I need your help, big brother. Otherwise I'm on a one-way trip to the electro-guillotine._

"Watch," she orders, swinging the pendant from her fingers.

She can't help but let a mysterious smile for over her lips when Ean's eyes gloss over.

"Good," she says, beaming once again. "Ean, I need your help with something…something to make it so Onderon will have a Queen, with no Kings attached."

 **A/N: And that's ending number one, the alternate ending.**

 **The second, true ending to the story will be posted next. For those of you who like warmth and happy endings, that's going to be the one for you.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics and Rose Ravenclaw for your reviews. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	16. True Ending

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN – TRUE ENDING**

Ahsoka ushers Steela out of the Unifar Temple and into the bride's room. She grabs each of her friend's shoulders and faces her square on.

"Steela, are you okay?"

Steela reaches for the corset on the back of her dress and tries to untie it, but can't.

"Please get this off of me," she begs, unable to find the end of the laces. She settles for tearing the veil off her head while Ahsoka ducks behind her and starts to unlace the dress's corset.

There's a knock on the door and Hero pushes in without waiting for a response, Sierra on her heels.

Ahsoka ignores the intrusion and continues to loosen the gown's vicious grip on Steela. The corset is laced so tight, it's left indentations in the wearer's skin. When the last lace is undone, the voluminous gown falls to the floor, leaving only the woman it held prisoner.

Sierra locates Steela's street clothes, folded neatly on a shelf. She hands the pants to Hero, but pauses with the red blouse, clearly not something Steela purchased on her own volition.

As an answer, Hero snatches the garment from Sierra's hands, tosses into the trash can, and unbuttons her own blouse to replace it.

Steela pushes back tears as she buttons Hero's blouse. She looks down at her chest so she can see what she's doing, only for another unwelcome sight to taint her vision.

"This isn't mine," she says sourly, undoing the pendant's clasp from the back of her neck.

Sierra gapes. "That's the pendant Bastian used to hypnotize me."

A horrible feeling races over Steela. "Hypnotize _you?"_

Sierra nods. "He wanted me to marry Ean."

Ahsoka's eyes widen. Steela's jaw drops, but Hero is the one who gives voice to what they're all thinking. "But you're _twelve!"_

"He wanted to get rid of me so I wouldn't expose the wedding, so he tried to hypnotize me and give me to Ean as a reward."

Hero didn't think it was possible for her opinion of Bastian to drop any lower, but it does. Steela looks like she's about to burst into tears and Sierra isn't far behind her.

"I can't believe I was so stupid." Steela moans. "I should have known he had other plans, I should have stopped this."

Ahsoka shakes her head. "You couldn't have known. My master told me that the leader of the Gungans was hypnotized, too. It looks completely innocent when they do it and once they've done it, there's nothing you can do."

There's another knock. Steela walks over to the door and opens it a crack to see who it is. Saw pushes into the room, grabs his sister and pulls her to his chest. "Steela, thank God…"

"Saw!" She hugs him. "I thought you were dead."

Tandin squeezes past the Gerreras. "Bastian and the Goulds are in my men's custody. When the justices see the evidence against them, I'm doubtful the elder two will be able to hurt any of us again."

"What about Ean?" Sierra asks.

"He's a minor," Tandin explains. "And he was acting under Griff's and Bastian's influence. He'll probably be released to his parents."

 _And a hefty community service requirement if I have anything to say about it._ He thinks. The very thought of what Bastian and Ean wanted to do to Steela and to his ward makes his blood boil.

Sierra gulps. All she can see is the anger on her guardian's face, without a thought to who it's directed towards.

Steela rubs a hand through her hair when she freezes and holds it in front of her face.

The one thing she forgot to remove, the engagement ring, is still on her finger.

Using her thumb and index finger like a pair of forceps, Steela yanks off the ring and throws it. The diamond lands in the middle of the floor.

No one can take their eyes off it. That tiny band was two words away from becoming a collar around Steela's neck as she became Bastian's slave, led around by the hand while he followed in his father's footsteps and became a tyrant king.

Steela chokes. Too many emotions swirl through her mind - anger, shock, horror, relief – for her to handle with one mere action.

But she knows what she needs to do: she must reassert her strength to the people of Onderon. No doubt every journalist knows what's happened at the Unifar Temple, and they'll come running to find if Bastian Rash is who they think he is.

Steela swallows hard.

"I'm going to the militia headquarters." She says evenly. "Who wants to come along?"

…

"Steela?"

Bastian stares at her, his hands in binders. "I don't understand. You had some kind of mental breakdown back at the temple -."

"The only mental breakdown I'm aware of," Steela announces. "Was the one you had when you thought you'd get away with hypnotizing me."

Bastian's jaw drops. His eyes go to Saw, then Ahsoka, Hero, Hutch, until they settle on Sierra's smug face.

"Never try to hypnotize a hypnotist." She announces.

Bastian glares at her, but Steela steps between them, demanding his attention once more.

She pulls the engagement ring from her pocket and flings it at him. The piece of jewelry bounces off Bastian's chest and lands between his feet.

"You can have that back." She says sweetly.

Bastian scowls and prepares to say something, but Steela beats him to it. She turns on her heel, her hair swishing behind her as she leaves nothing but the engagement ring and a shocked look on Bastian's face.

…

Saw waits for the other shoe to drop when he, Ahsoka, and Steela arrive home.

His sister didn't react to Lux's death until the door shut behind her but once she started, little could stop the utter outpouring of grief.

But Steela doesn't do that. Instead, she asks if Ahsoka wants some ice cream or cookie dough.

He watches as they mix the chocolate chip cookie ingredients together and sit on the cough with the mixing bowl between them. Saw managed to put a dozen into the oven for his own consumption, but the girls get the lion's share.

They eat the cookie dough and start out making polite conversation. But the conversation soon gives way to memories of Lux. The way they met him (Ahsoka at his home on Raxus, Steela during a recruiting mission), giggling over the funny things he said and did.

And then it ends with the words running through Steela's head at the funeral.

"It should have been me."

Ahsoka squeezes her eyes.

"It shouldn't have been you. I should have been faster, I should have made sure that gunship wasn't operational."

"You did what you could!"

"Well, so did you!"

Saw watches as Steela hugs Ahsoka, wanting to go in and comfort the both of them but knowing he shouldn't.

This is important.

He realizes, watching Ahsoka and Steela talk, that finally, _finally,_ understanding and healing have come.

…

"Tandin?"

Tandin looks up. Sierra stands in the hallway, holding a small bag. He doesn't know where she thinks she's going. Even though she did help to unveil a conspiracy, it doesn't absolve her of sneaking around behind his back. But he'll take an apology any day.

"Yes?"

Sierra's voice is barely above a whisper. "I know I've caused you a lot of problems. Going to Coruscant, skipping school, lying, sneaking around. I've just been nothing but trouble and…" she hangs her head. "I understand if you don't want to keep me anymore."

Tandin stops in his tracks.

By the temple of Unifar, he was expecting an _apology,_ not a goodbye!

"I talked to Padme on Coruscant. She said she can take me if you don't want to." Sierra says, shuffling her feet. "I'm sorry I messed everything up."

She turns around, pulling on her sweater.

Tandin moves.

With the speed of a militiaman chasing down criminals, he races across the room, grabs Sierra's shoulder and spins her around to face him.

He kneels, looking into her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. You may have made mistakes, but we'll right them." Tandin says, visualizing the route in the jungle where they run drills. "I swore to you and King Dendup that I would raise you, and I keep my word."

Sierra stares at him.

Is it true? Is Tandin really saying he wants to _keep_ her? That he's not going to leave her all alone again?

Does he mean it?

Tandin squeezes her arms and repeats. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sierra sobs.

For a second, Tandin is dumbfounded. Sierra hasn't shed a tear in front of him since he's met her, instead running the shower or the fan to mask the sound of her crying. Yet here she is, crying over the terrifying near-miss with Bastian, her lost family, and the relief that he wants to keep her after all.

But in an instant, as if her family has sent some kind of message from beyond the grave, he knows what to do. He wraps his arms around his ward and doesn't say a word.

He is the shepherd, and this the lost lamb.

He can only thank luck and quite possibly divine intervention that he managed to bring her home.

….

"Sierra, if you don't hurry we're going to be late!"

Sierra comes down the hallway. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Tandin looks at the chrono. "Saw told me they're not waiting for us if we're late." He doesn't believe it – Ahsoka, at the very least, will wait for them. Their house and the Gerreras' is only six blocks apart after all. Still, the threat of missing out on food is usually enough to get Sierra moving.

 _It's enough to get anyone moving_ , Tandin thinks. _Maybe I should dangle Hero's cooking in front of the recruits and have them chase it when they run drills. I'm sure that'll make them run faster._

He nixes the idea, partly because it's cruel, but mainly because that means he would have to stand there and watch them eat the food.

Six blocks later, and the party at the Gerreras' is in full swing. Steela, Saw, Ahsoka, and Hutch are at the table playing sabaac and drinking what looks like muja juice.

"How are you?" Tandin asks.

Steela takes a card. "I got kicked out of my own kitchen, but otherwise I'm good. How about you?"

Sierra nods. "Pretty good," she says, and meanders over to the counter where the drinks are held.

Tandin takes a seat at the table next to Ahsoka, who deals him in. "Do you like sabaac?"

"I can play," he says, accepting his hand. "My men and I sometimes – Sierra, _that is alcoholic!"_

Sierra sets the muja juice cocktail down. "In my defense, it looks just like muja juice."

Steela nods toward the kitchen. "If you can get in there, we have regular muja juice."

"Do you think I have a death wish?" Hero doesn't allow anyone to be in the kitchen with her while she's cooking. She says it keeps her recipes secret.

Saw elbows Tandin. "You already have eyes in the back of your head for the kid, don't you?"

"She's a Bonteri. I have to." Tandin says under his breath.

Saw nods. "And that's the truth."

…

Just then, Hero opens the kitchen door.

"You all can come in now." She says, walking out with a plate of food.

In the scramble to get a good place in line for the food, Ahsoka watches her friends.

Steela, loading up a plate with everything.

Saw, trying to peek at all the sabaac cards while their players are gone.

Sierra, checking to make sure the contents of her cup are actually muja juice and not a cocktail.

Hutch, trying to guess the spices in the main dish.

Hero, refusing to tell him what's in it with a teasing "I don't know".

And Tandin, keeping an eye on all of them.

Ahsoka's heart swells.

If one more could be with them, then this day would be perfect. But Lux wouldn't want them to dwell on what could have been. All that would matter to him is now.

So Ahsoka loads a plate with food and sits down with her friends to play sabaac, smiling, and finally nearing the end of the road they've all been on far too long.

…

Far away, Lux Bonteri smiles.

 **A/N: And that, my friends, is the true ending to "Black Sheep" For those of you who love fluff and happy endings, this was the one for you.**

 **I do have an announcement to make. The much-requested sequel to "While Others Fought For Justice" is in the works, and it's an Clone Wars/Rebels crossover. So if you would like to see what happened to our favorite rebels after the last story, keep your eyes open for that one.**

 **Thank you to starwarshobbitfics for your review. And speaking of which, please review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Lux's Sister**


End file.
